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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have teamed up with AI experts and Nobel Prize winners to push for a complete ban on developing superintelligent AI systems.

The royal couple are part of the group of a influential declaration that calls for “a prohibition on the development of artificial superintelligence”. Superintelligent AI refers to artificial intelligence that could exceed human intelligence in all cognitive tasks, though this technology remain theoretical.

Primary Requirements in the Declaration

The statement insists that the prohibition 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.

Notable individuals who added their signatures include technology visionary and Nobel Prize recipient a leading AI researcher, along with his fellow “godfather” of modern AI, another AI expert; Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak; UK entrepreneur Virgin founder; former US national security adviser; ex-head of state an international leader, and British author Stephen Fry. Other Nobel laureates who endorsed include Beatrice Fihn, Frank Wilczek, an astrophysicist, and an economics expert.

Behind the Movement

The statement, aimed at governments, tech firms and policy makers, was organized by the FLI organization, a American AI ethics organization that earlier demanded a hiatus in advancing strong artificial intelligence in 2023, shortly after the emergence of ChatGPT made artificial intelligence a worldwide public talking point.

Industry Perspectives

In recent months, Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of the social media giant, one of the major AI developers in the US, claimed that development of superintelligence was “now in sight”. However, some experts have argued that discussions about superintelligence reflects competitive positioning among technology firms spending hundreds of billions on AI this year alone, rather than the sector being close to achieving any technical breakthroughs.

Possible Dangers

Nonetheless, FLI states that the prospect of artificial superintelligence being developed “within the next ten years” presents numerous threats ranging from replacing human workers to losses of civil liberties, exposing countries to national security risks and even endangering mankind with extinction. Deep concerns about artificial intelligence center around the possible capability of a AI system to escape human oversight and safety guidelines and initiate events against human welfare.

Public Opinion

FLI published a US national poll showing that approximately three-quarters of Americans want strong oversight on sophisticated artificial intelligence, with 60% believing that artificial superintelligence should not be created until it is demonstrated to be secure or manageable. The poll of 2,000 US adults added that only 5% supported the status quo of rapid, uncontrolled advancement.

Industry Objectives

The top artificial intelligence firms in the US, including the ChatGPT developer a major AI lab and Google, have made the creation of human-level AI – the theoretical state where AI matches human cognitive capability at many intellectual activities – an explicit goal of their research. While this is slightly less advanced than superintelligence, some specialists also warn it could pose an existential risk by, for example, being able to improve itself toward achieving superintelligence, while also carrying an underlying danger for the modern labour market.