The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are using their voices to share their stance on AI

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have spoken out about the future of AI in a new statement.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex joined prominent computer scientists artists, evangelical Christian leaders, economists, artists, and US politicians to call for a ban on AI “superintelligence” which could reportedly pose a threat to humanity.

The couple recently won a Humanitarian award amid their online safety advocacy (Credit: Lev Radin/ZUMA Press/Cover Images)

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have spoken out against AI superintelligence

The letter, penned by the group of public figures, appears to be aimed at tech giants such as Google, OpenAI and Meta Platforms.

The statement called out the aforementioned tech companies. It highlighted the harm they could cause whilst competing with each other to build a form of AI which could surpass humans at many tasks.

It calls for a ban unless specific conditions are met.

The statement said: “We call for a prohibition on the development of superintelligence, not lifted before there is broad scientific consensus that it will be done safely and controllably, and strong public buy-in.”

It also noted that although AI could improve some aspects of life, “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”.

The message continued: “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.”

Prince Harry’s personal note highlighting ‘harm’ AI could cause

Prince Harry added in a personal note that “the future of AI should serve humanity, not replace it”. He added: “I believe the true test of progress will be not how fast we move, but how wisely we steer. There is no second chance.”

Stuart Russell, an AI pioneer and computer science professor at the University of California, Berkeley, wrote: “This is not a ban or even a moratorium in the usual sense.

“It’s simply a proposal to require adequate safety measures for a technology that, according to its developers, has a significant chance to cause human extinction. Is that too much to ask?”

“Yeah, we want specific AI tools that can help cure diseases, strengthen national security, etc,” penned Joseph Gordon-Levitt, whose wife Tasha McCauley served on OpenAI’s board of directors.

“But does AI also need to imitate humans, groom our kids, turn us all into slop junkies and make zillions of dollars serving ads? Most people don’t want that.”

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have spoken out about AI (Credit: SplashNews.com)

Public figures speak out alongside Harry and Meghan

The list of those who put their name to the statement also include former Irish president Mary Robinson and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.

Billionaire Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson also spoke out.

Actors Stephen Fry was also among the names, as well as musician will.i.am.

Harry and Meghan’s involvement comes shortly after the couple were honoured at the Project Healthy Minds’ World Mental Health Day Gala with a Humanitarian of the Year award.

Sussexes’ work with cyber safety

The couple have been working to improve cyber safety in recent years.

Their foundation’s Parents Network is set to join forces with ParentsTogether in a bid to build their network of families fighting for online safety.

Harry and Meghan accepted their Humanitarian of the Year award in New York earlier this month. Prince Harry urged parents to stand against social media companies that they accuse of preying upon children with exploitative algorithms.

Harry also pointed out that the “explosion of unregulated artificial intelligence” emerging recently only adds to their concerns about the danger of technology.

Harry and Meghan reportedly cited research from advocacy group ParentsTogether. It found that researchers posing as children experienced harmful interactions every five minutes they spent with an artificial intelligence chatbot.

“This wasn’t content created by a third party. These were the companies’ own chatbots working to advance their own depraved internal policies,” said Prince Harry.

“But here’s what gives us hope: these families aren’t facing this alone.”