The superintelligent AI ban proposal targets technology that could surpass human performance on essentially all cognitive tasks, including learning, reasoning, planning, and creativity. Major AI companies like OpenAI, Meta, and Google have stated goals of building superintelligence within the coming decade, raising alarm among scientists and policymakers about potential existential risks.
The statement coordinated by the Future of Life Institute consists of just 30 words demanding prohibition on superintelligence development. The ban should remain in place until there is “broad scientific consensus that it will be done safely and controllably” and “strong public buy-in” exists among the general population.
Signatories to the superintelligent AI ban represent an unusually diverse political and cultural coalition. The list includes conservative figures like Steve Bannon and Glenn Beck alongside progressive voices such as former Obama national security adviser Susan Rice and former Irish President Mary Robinson. Five Nobel laureates, evangelical leader Johnnie Moore, papal adviser Paolo Benanti, and celebrities like Stephen Fry and Kate Bush also added their names.
Future of Life Institute executive director Anthony Aguirre told TIME that organizers believe superintelligence could arrive in as little as one to two years. He warned that “time is running out” and emphasized the need for widespread societal realization that unchecked development of superintelligence may not align with human interests.
The superintelligent AI ban call cites multiple concerns about uncontrolled development. Risks include human economic obsolescence, widespread unemployment, erosion of individual liberties and freedoms, loss of control over autonomous systems, national security threats from cyberwarfare and weaponization, and even potential human extinction if development goes catastrophically wrong.
Professor Stuart Russell from UC Berkeley, who co-authored a foundational AI textbook, clarified that the superintelligent AI ban represents a moratorium rather than permanent prohibition. He explained it’s “simply a proposal to require adequate safety measures for a technology that could cause human extinction” rather than a ban in the traditional sense.
Despite the high-profile support, the superintelligent AI ban faces significant implementation challenges. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg allocated approximately $15 billion to establish a new “superintelligence lab” in summer 2025, while most AI professionals don’t anticipate such technology emerging soon. The intense competition among tech companies and governments to accelerate AI development makes an effective prohibition unlikely.
The lack of international regulatory frameworks compounds concerns about the superintelligent AI ban’s feasibility. Currently, no global governance structures exist to oversee development of superintelligent systems, and market competition could override caution as companies pursue dominance in artificial intelligence capabilities.
This superintelligent AI ban represents the Future of Life Institute’s second major intervention. In 2023, the organization published a letter calling for a six-month pause on powerful AI system development, which gained widespread circulation but failed to achieve its goal. Organizers decided to mount this new campaign with a more specific focus on superintelligence.
Prince Harry articulated the philosophical challenge underlying the superintelligent AI ban proposal, stating that “the true test of progress will be not how fast we move, but how wisely we steer.” His comment encapsulates the tension between technological advancement and responsible development that defines current AI policy debates.
The statement does not specify concrete mechanisms for measuring scientific consensus or assessing public buy-in before lifting the superintelligent AI ban. This ambiguity raises questions about implementation feasibility, though signatories argue the priority is establishing the principle that safety must precede speed in developing potentially transformative technologies.
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