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Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak supports an interim ban on AI superintelligence

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is one of more than a thousand public figures to call for an interim ban on the development of AI superintelligence. Other signatories include Nobel laureates, AI pioneers, and other tech luminaries …

The statement is short and to the point. Here it is in its entirety:

Innovative AI tools may bring unprecedented health and prosperity. However, alongside tools, many leading AI companies have the stated goal of building superintelligence in the coming decade that can significantly outperform all humans on essentially all cognitive tasks. This has raised concerns, ranging from human economic obsolescence and disempowerment, losses of freedom, civil liberties, dignity, and control, to national security risks and even potential human extinction. The succinct statement below aims to create common knowledge of the growing number of experts and public figures who oppose a rush to superintelligence.

We call for a prohibition on the development of superintelligence, not lifted before there is

  1. broad scientific consensus that it will be done safely and controllably, and
  2. strong public buy-in.

Some other notable signatories include:

  • AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton, sometimes known as “the godfather of deep learning”
  • Foundational AI researcher Yoshua Bengio
  • UC Berkeley CS professor and AI safety expert Stuart Russell
  • Nobel laureate physicists Frank Wilczek and John C. Mather
  • Nobel laureates Beatrice Fihn and Daron Acemoğlu
  • Former U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice

Many of the same signatories have previously said that artificial general intelligence (AGI) poses as big a threat of human extinction as pandemics and nuclear war.

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Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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