Over 850 global leaders urge ban on 'AI Superintelligence’, warn of existential threats to humanity

A group of more than 850 global tech leaders, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, and AI pioneers Yoshua Bengio and Geoffrey Hinton, have jointly urged a global halt on the development of “superintelligence” -- a form of Artificial Intelligence that could surpass human cognitive abilities in nearly all domains.

According to a CNBC report, several of the so-called “godfathers of AI” have expressed deep concern over the race among tech giants such as OpenAI and Meta to create digital superintelligence.

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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has previously said that humanity is close to achieving “digital superintelligence” and claimed that ChatGPT is already “more powerful than any human who has ever lived.” Meanwhile, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has launched “Meta Superintelligence Labs” to advance the company’s ambition of developing personal superintelligence.

The open letter, signed by a diverse group including Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and former Irish President Mary Robinson, warns that superintelligence could bring devastating consequences, including “human economic obsolescence, loss of freedom and civil liberties, and even potential human extinction.”

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The signatories have called for a ban on the development of superintelligence until there is broad public support and scientific consensus ensuring it can be built and controlled safely.