Overview
- Published on October 22 by the Future of Life Institute in the Financial Times, the letter is directed at Google, Meta and OpenAI with a call to halt work on so‑called superintelligence.
- The signatories seek a prohibition that lasts until there is broad scientific consensus on safety and clear public support, warning of risks from loss of human control to national security threats and even extinction.
- Backers span AI pioneers and public figures, including Yoshua Bengio, Geoffrey Hinton, Stuart Russell and Steve Wozniak, alongside Steve Bannon, Susan Rice, Mike Mullen, Mary Robinson, Glenn Beck, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
- An accompanying U.S. survey of 2,000 respondents found 64% favor pausing development until safety is demonstrated or not developing it at all, with 73% supporting strict regulation and 5% favoring the current rapid, lightly regulated trajectory.
- Coverage stresses that superintelligence remains theoretical and ill‑defined, raising enforcement and definitional challenges as major firms continue investing in advanced AI, with critics warning research could shift to countries with looser rules.