Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Steve Bannon and artificial intelligence pioneer Geoffrey Hinton are part of a group calling for a ban on AI superintelligence until this technology can be deployed safely.
In a statement organized by the nonprofit Future of Life Institute, the group of scientists and other public figures called for a ban on the development of superintelligence — or AI that is far more capable than humans — until there is “broad scientific consensus that it will be done in a safe and controllable way.”
Other notable signatories include Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak, economist Daron Acemoglu and former National Security Advisor Susan Rice.
FREE LIST
10 small caps to invest in
The list of stocks from promising sectors on the Stock Exchange
While there have been several statements calling for a slowdown in AI development in the past, including from the Future of Life Institute, the latest effort includes many new names across a wider range of professions and political persuasions than previous efforts.
“What unites all these people from across the political spectrum is that they are actually all humans, not machines, and so they care deeply about the future, where machines should work for us, not new digital overlords,” said Max Tegmark, professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and president of the Future of Life institute.
Tegmark said he was excited to see concern about superintelligent AI “break out of the nerd bubble” and attract big names in areas outside of technology and science.
Continues after advertising
Tegmark’s organization recently released the results of a survey it commissioned, showing that 73% of respondents to a study of U.S. adults want robust regulation of advanced AI.
Other outside polls have shown bipartisan support for AI oversight; a recent Gallup poll, for example, found that 88% of Democrats and 79% of Republicans and independents were in favor of maintaining rules around AI for security purposes.
While some right-wing leaders like Bannon have criticized the risks of AI, other Republican figures with senior roles in the Trump administration, including White House AI czar David Sacks, have opposed what they see as onerous regulatory proposals that could slow a promising sector.
Tegmark said he is in contact with Sacks, who did not sign the statement, and that the Future of Life Institute’s advocacy for superintelligence controls is compatible with the desire to boost AI, but in a safe way.
Sacks “wants big data centers so we can do high-level research,” Tegmark said. “But I never got the sense that he was eager to build a digital sovereign that we would lose control over.”
© 2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Continues after advertising
