Unlikely Alliance Forms as Tech Leaders, Politicians, and Celebrities Demand AI Superintelligence Moratorium

Broad Coalition Calls for Halt to AI Superintelligence Development

In an unprecedented show of unity across ideological divides, hundreds of influential figures from technology, politics, entertainment, and academia have joined forces to demand a prohibition on developing AI superintelligence. The Statement on Superintelligence, organized by the Future of Life Institute (FLI), represents one of the most diverse coalitions ever assembled around artificial intelligence regulation.

Broad Coalition Calls for Halt to AI Superintelligence Development
What the Moratorium Demands
Public Opinion Supports Regulation
Notable Absences and Shifting Positions
Broader Context: Current AI Harms vs. Future Risks
Religious and Ethical Dimensions
Democratic Process in Technological Development
Unanswered Questions and Future Implications

The signatories include Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, former Trump strategist Steve Bannon, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, retired Admiral Mike Mullen, and AI pioneers Yoshua Bengio and Geoffrey Hinton – often called the “godfathers of AI.” This eclectic mix of voices underscores the growing concern about artificial intelligence development transcending traditional political and professional boundaries.

What the Moratorium Demands

The statement calls for a complete prohibition on the race toward superintelligence – AI systems that would surpass human intelligence across most cognitive tasks. According to the document, this prohibition should remain in place until there is “broad scientific consensus that it will be done safely and controllably” and until there is “strong public buy-in” for such development.

Professor Yoshua Bengio of the University of Montreal emphasized the urgency in a press release, stating, “Frontier AI systems could surpass most individuals across most cognitive tasks within just a few years. These advances could unlock solutions to major global challenges, but they also carry significant risks.”

Public Opinion Supports Regulation

The letter cites recent polling data from FLI showing overwhelming public support for AI regulation. The survey revealed that only 5% of Americans favor rapid, unregulated AI development, while 73% support robust regulatory action. Approximately 64% believe superintelligence shouldn’t be built until proven safe and controllable.

Anthony Aguirre, FLI co-founder, noted the disconnect between public sentiment and corporate action: “Many people want powerful AI tools for science, medicine, productivity, and other benefits. But the path AI corporations are taking, of racing toward smarter-than-human AI that is designed to replace people, is wildly out of step with what the public wants.”

Notable Absences and Shifting Positions

Perhaps as telling as who signed the letter is who didn’t. Conspicuously absent were OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, and Elon Musk – despite Musk having signed a previous FLI letter in 2023 calling for a pause on AI development beyond GPT-4.

This absence is particularly notable given that Altman has previously endorsed similar calls for caution regarding advanced AI risks. The shifting positions of key industry leaders suggest the increasing complexity of the AI governance debate as technology advances and commercial interests deepen.

Broader Context: Current AI Harms vs. Future Risks

While the letter focuses on superintelligence risks, it’s important to recognize that AI systems don’t need to achieve superhuman capabilities to cause significant harm. Current generative AI tools are already:

Disrupting education systems and academic integrity
Accelerating the spread of misinformation
Facilitating the creation of nonconsensual and illegal content
Contributing to mental health crises and reality distortion

As documented in numerous reports, these existing technologies have already led to serious consequences including relationship breakdowns, legal issues, and personal harm.

Religious and Ethical Dimensions

The inclusion of religious figures like Friar Paolo Benanti, who serves as the Pope’s AI advisor, highlights the ethical and moral dimensions of the superintelligence debate. This religious perspective adds weight to concerns about whether humanity is adequately prepared to manage technologies that could fundamentally reshape human existence and consciousness., as comprehensive coverage

Democratic Process in Technological Development

A central theme emerging from the statement is the demand for democratic oversight of AI development. “Nobody developing these AI systems has been asking humanity if this is OK,” Aguirre stated. “We did – and they think it’s unacceptable.”

This represents a significant challenge to the current model of technological development, which largely occurs within corporate laboratories with minimal public input or regulatory supervision. The coalition argues that decisions about humanity’s technological future shouldn’t be made in what they describe as a “Wild West-like Silicon Valley vacuum.”

Unanswered Questions and Future Implications

As with previous calls for AI development pauses, questions remain about practical implementation and enforcement. The letter doesn’t specify how such a prohibition would work internationally, how “superintelligence” would be defined for regulatory purposes, or what mechanisms would determine when safety conditions have been met.

Nevertheless, the breadth of this coalition – spanning from technology pioneers to military leaders, from conservative media personalities to liberal entertainers – suggests that concerns about AI governance are becoming increasingly mainstream. As AI capabilities continue to advance rapidly, this statement may represent a turning point in the global conversation about who should control humanity’s technological destiny and what safeguards must be in place before we proceed further into uncharted territory.