Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, are joining a call to halt the development of some AI tools until the process can be “done safely and controllably.”
The couple is among more than 700 public figures — including scientists, actors, former lawmakers and national security officials and more — to sign on to a brief statement released Wednesday by the Future of Life Institute (FLI).
“We call for a prohibition on the development of superintelligence,” the statement said. The ban, it continued, should not lifted before there is “broad scientific consensus that it will be done safely and controllably” and “strong public buy-in.”
Meghan Markle, Prince Harry back the Future of Life Institute (FLI)
FLI describes its mission as working to “steer transformative technologies away from extreme, large-scale risks and towards benefiting life.”
Other notable names who signed the statement include former Obama White House adviser Susan Rice, former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen, former White House staffer Steve Bannon, actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and former Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), among others.
“The future of AI should serve humanity, not replace it,” Harry, who along with Meghan, stepped back from serving as full-time working members of the British royal family in 2020, said.
“The true test of progress will be not how fast we move, but how wisely we steer,” Harry, 41, said.
AI Superintelligence
“Superintelligence is defined as artificial intelligence capable of outperforming all humans at most cognitive tasks,” a post on Harry and Meghan’s The Archewell Foundation website.
“Leading AI experts believe that such systems are less than ten years away and warn that we do not know how to control superintelligence were it to be created. While innovation in AI offers incredible potential for progress, rushing toward superintelligence without safeguards could have unthinkable consequences for humanity,” the post said.
In 2022, Harry helped launch an online safety toolkit aimed at children. He and Meghan have also advocated for social media companies to implement stronger content-moderation policies.