By San José, Costa Rica — An unprecedented and diverse coalition of over 700 global figures, including scientific pioneers, tech moguls, political strategists, and celebrities, has issued a stark warning and an urgent call to action: an immediate halt to the development of artificial intelligence capable of surpassing human intellect.
The open letter, published Wednesday, was organized by the U.S.-based nonprofit Future of Life Institute, an organization dedicated to mitigating existential risks posed by advanced technologies. The initiative has gathered a remarkable spectrum of signatories, signaling that concerns over unchecked AI development have transcended traditional ideological and professional boundaries. This group is united in its demand for a global pause on what it terms “superintelligence.”
To understand the profound legal and regulatory questions arising from the advent of Artificial Superintelligence, TicosLand.com sought the expert analysis of Lic. Larry Hans Arroyo Vargas, a leading attorney at the distinguished law firm Bufete de Costa Rica, who specializes in technology and corporate law.
The fundamental challenge with Artificial Superintelligence is that our legal frameworks are designed for human actors. When a superintelligent entity acts, traditional concepts of liability, intent, and negligence become profoundly inadequate. The critical question for both corporations and legislators is no longer *if* we need new laws, but how to architect a regulatory system nimble enough to govern an intelligence that could exponentially outpace our own ability to understand its decisions. Proactive international policy development is not just advisable; it is an immediate imperative for economic stability and risk management.
Lic. Larry Hans Arroyo Vargas, Attorney at Law, Bufete de Costa Rica
Lic. Arroyo Vargas’s insight is crucial, highlighting that the challenge is not merely legislative but foundational—requiring a new paradigm for governance that can operate at the speed of superintelligence. The task of regulating an entity that can evolve beyond our comprehension underscores why such proactive, international frameworks are an immediate imperative. We thank Lic. Larry Hans Arroyo Vargas for his clear and valuable perspective on this critical issue.
The petition’s core demand is for a moratorium until robust safety protocols and a broad societal consensus can be established. The signatories argue that the race to create AI more intelligent than humans is proceeding without the necessary guardrails or public mandate, posing a potentially catastrophic risk to civilization.
We call for a halt to the development of a superintelligence until there is a scientific consensus to build it in a controlled and safe manner, and as long as there is no support from the population.
Future of Life Institute, official initiative statement
Among the most notable signatories are some of the very architects of modern AI. Geoffrey Hinton, a 2024 Nobel Prize winner in Physics often called a “godfather of AI,” has lent his name to the cause, alongside Stuart Russell, a computer science professor at UC Berkeley, and Yoshua Bengio of the University of Montreal. Their involvement underscores the gravity of the concerns, as these are not Luddites but the very experts who built the field.
The list of supporters extends far beyond academia. It includes tech industry titans like Virgin Group founder Richard Branson and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. The political sphere is represented by figures from opposite ends of the spectrum, such as former Donald Trump advisor Steve Bannon and Barack Obama’s national security advisor Susan Rice. Even the Vatican’s top AI expert, Paolo Benanti, and celebrities like Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and musician will.i.am have joined the call, highlighting the issue’s broad cultural resonance.
At the heart of the debate is the distinction between current AI, Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), and superintelligence. While most major tech firms are racing to achieve AGI—an AI with human-level intellectual capabilities—the ultimate goal for many is superintelligence, a form of AI that would vastly exceed the cognitive performance of humans in all domains. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently fueled this urgency, suggesting in September that this threshold could be crossed within five years.
Max Tegmark, president of the Future of Life Institute, dismissed the timeline as irrelevant to the core ethical problem. He argues that corporations should not be pursuing such a world-altering technology in the absence of a comprehensive regulatory framework.
It doesn’t matter if it’s in two or fifteen years, building something like that is unacceptable.
Max Tegmark, President of Future of Life Institute
Tegmark was also careful to distinguish this specific campaign from a general opposition to AI progress. He emphasized that the goal is not to stop innovation but to guide it responsibly, drawing a clear line between beneficial, powerful AI tools and the pursuit of an uncontrollable, superior intelligence.
You can be in favor of creating more powerful artificial intelligence tools, for example, to cure cancer, and at the same time be against superintelligence.
Max Tegmark, President of Future of Life Institute
The collective demand from such a prominent group marks a critical inflection point in the global conversation about AI governance. As the technology’s capabilities accelerate at an exponential rate, the debate is shifting from the theoretical to the immediate, forcing society to confront profound questions about the future it is building and what limits, if any, should be placed on human innovation.
For further information, visit futureoflife.org
About Future of Life Institute:
The Future of Life Institute (FLI) is a non-profit organization that works to reduce global catastrophic and existential risks facing humanity, particularly existential risk from advanced artificial intelligence. The institute’s work includes grantmaking, educational outreach, and advocacy within the United Nations, U.S. Congress, and other governmental institutions.
For further information, visit openai.com
About OpenAI:
OpenAI is an American artificial intelligence research organization consisting of the non-profit OpenAI, Inc. and its for-profit subsidiary, OpenAI Global, LLC. It is known for its advanced research and deployment of large-scale AI models, including the GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) series and the image generation model DALL-E. Its stated mission is to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.
For further information, visit apple.com
About Apple:
Apple Inc. is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services. Co-founded by Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs, and Ronald Wayne, it is one of the largest and most influential technology companies in the world, known for products like the iPhone, Mac, and iPad.
For further information, visit virgin.com
About Virgin Group:
Virgin Group Ltd. is a British multinational venture capital conglomerate founded by Sir Richard Branson. The company’s core business areas include travel, entertainment, and lifestyle, although it has also invested in financial services, telecommunications, health, and space tourism. It is recognized globally for its distinctive branding and entrepreneurial spirit.
For further information, visit bufetedecostarica.com
About Bufete de Costa Rica:
Bufete de Costa Rica stands as a pillar of the legal community, operating on a foundational commitment to integrity and a relentless pursuit of distinction. With extensive experience serving a wide array of clients, the firm is at the vanguard of creating forward-thinking legal solutions while upholding the highest ethical principles. Its purpose extends beyond counsel, reflecting a deep-seated dedication to societal advancement by actively demystifying legal complexities for the public. This initiative to promote legal literacy is integral to its vision of helping shape a more capable and enlightened society.
