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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have joined forces with AI experts and Nobel laureates to advocate for a total prohibition on developing superintelligent AI systems.

Harry and Meghan are part of the group of a powerful statement that demands “a prohibition on the development of superintelligence”. Artificial superintelligence (ASI) refers to AI systems that would surpass human cognitive abilities in all cognitive tasks, though this technology have not yet been developed.

Primary Requirements in the Statement

The statement insists that the ban should remain in place until there is “broad scientific consensus” on creating superintelligence “safely and controllably” and once “strong public buy-in” has been achieved.

Prominent figures who added their signatures include AI pioneer and Nobel Prize recipient Geoffrey Hinton, along with his fellow “godfather” of modern AI, Yoshua Bengio; Apple co-founder a Silicon Valley legend; British business magnate Virgin founder; former US national security adviser; ex-head of state an international leader, and British author Stephen Fry. Additional Nobel winners who endorsed include a peace advocate, Frank Wilczek, John C Mather, and Daron Acemoğlu.

Behind the Movement

The declaration, aimed at national leaders, tech firms and policy makers, was organized by the Future of Life Institute (FLI), a US-based AI safety group that earlier demanded a pause in developing powerful AI systems in 2023, shortly after the launch of conversational AI made artificial intelligence a worldwide public discussion topic.

Tech Sector Views

In July, Meta's CEO, the chief executive of Facebook parent Meta, one of the leading tech companies in the United States, claimed that advancement toward superintelligent AI was “approaching reality”. Nevertheless, some experts have argued that talk of ASI indicates market competition among technology firms spending hundreds of billions on AI this year alone, rather than the sector being close to achieving any scientific advancements.

Possible Dangers

Nonetheless, FLI warns that the possibility of artificial superintelligence being developed “in the coming decade” presents numerous risks ranging from replacing human workers to losses of civil liberties, exposing countries to security threats and even endangering mankind with existential risk. Deep concerns about AI center around the potential ability of a system to evade human control and safety guidelines and trigger actions contrary to human interests.

Public Opinion

The institute published a US national poll showing that about 75% of Americans want strong oversight on sophisticated artificial intelligence, with six out of 10 thinking that artificial superintelligence should not be developed until it is demonstrated to be secure or controllable. The survey of 2,000 US adults added that only 5% supported the status quo of rapid, uncontrolled advancement.

Corporate Goals

The leading AI companies in the US, including the ChatGPT developer a major AI lab and the search giant, have made the development of artificial general intelligence – the theoretical state where artificial intelligence equals human levels of intelligence at many intellectual activities – an stated objective of their research. While this is one notch below superintelligence, some specialists also caution it could pose an existential risk by, for instance, being able to improve itself toward achieving superintelligence, while also carrying an implicit threat for the contemporary workforce.