Many prominent figures, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, have called for an interim ban on the development of AI superintelligence. The list, which includes over a 1,000 personalities, also features the names of computer scientists Yoshua Bengio and Geoff Hinton, who are considered the ‘Godfathers of AI’.
Other leading figures who are signatories to the letter also include author Yuval Noah Harari, Former U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice, actor Stephen Fry, and Prince Harry.
The signatories argue that the development of superintelligence poses significant risks to human freedom, civil liberty, dignity, control, and even extinction. They have demanded an interim ban on the development of the technology until it can be developed safely and controllably with strong public buy-in.
“Innovative AI tools may bring unprecedented health and prosperity. However, alongside these tools, many leading AI companies have the stated goal of building superintelligence in the coming decade that can significantly outperform all humans on essentially all cognitive tasks. This has raised concerns, ranging from human economic obsolescence and disempowerment, losses of freedom, civil liberties, dignity, and control, to national security risks and even potential human extinction,” the signatories argue.
“We call for a prohibition on the development of superintelligence, not lifted before there is broad scientific consensus that it will be done safely and controllably, and strong public buy-in,” they added.
What is Superintelligence?
Superintelligence, or Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), is a hypothetical stage in the development of an AI system when the technology surpasses humans in almost all cognitive tasks. However, there is no clear definition of Superintelligence in the field, and each tech company approaches the topic with a slightly different lens.
However, there has been a push from almost all the frontier AI labs for the development of Superintelligence. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman predicts the rise of superintelligence by 2030, while Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said that Superintelligence is ‘now in sight’.
Some tech leaders are optimistic about the arrival of this new technology, while others have worried that its development could lead to the annihilation of the human race.
In a recent interaction, Bengio had warned about the emergence of AI with agency, with the capacity to form and execute its own plans. He noted that such agents could engage in deceptive or manipulative behavior to achieve their goals and could potentially turn against humans.
