In the beginning of January, approximately ninety individuals recognized as influential figures from politics, local society, and intellectual domains convened in a New Orleans Marriott. They were there for a confidential summit on artificial intelligence — a gathering so clandestine, indeed, that attendees were unaware of the full guest list prior to their arrival. Ecclesiastical figures and scholars with conservative views found themselves positioned alongside delegates from workers’ organizations. Influential progressive strategists, who had previously persuaded Bernie Sanders to contend for the presidency, unexpectedly shared space with prominent MAGA commentators. The AI visionaries who had convened these individuals in New Orleans ardently wished for a peaceful interaction among them.
This past Wednesday, the Future of Life Institute (FLI), recognized as one of the leading authorities in the realm of AI safety, unveiled the outcomes of that gathering: the Pro-Human AI Declaration. This brief manifesto outlines five key principles stipulating that AI development must primarily prioritize human welfare. It places specific emphasis on preventing power consolidation among the influential, safeguarding the welfare of children, families, and communities, and upholding individual autonomy and freedom. To my personal knowledge, no other political document has ever featured such a diverse array of endorsements.
Influential civil society bodies, operating from sectors entirely distinct from technology, have lent their support to the Declaration. These include prominent labor federations such as the AFL-CIO, the American Federation of Teachers, and the Screen Writers Guild; faith-based entities like the G20 Interfaith Forum Association and the Congress of Christian Leaders; the Progressive Democrats of America, the organization instrumental in urging Bernie Sanders to seek the Democratic nomination in 2016; policy research institutions like the conservative Institute for Family Studies; and activist associations such as Parents RISE!.
The roster of individual endorsers is even more varied, encompassing figures such as former Democratic presidential hopeful Ralph Nader, AFT head Randi Weingarten, Signal Foundation president Meredith Whittaker, Glenn Beck of The Blaze, Steve Bannon from War Room, Virgin Group originator Sir Richard Branson, ex-National Security Advisor Susan Rice, members of SAG-AFTRA, and leading figures from significant evangelical bodies. Additional endorsements are anticipated in the upcoming days.
The gathering operated under Chatham House Rules, and consequently, the attendee list has not been disclosed. However, those attendees who consented to interviews with The Verge regarding their experience indicated their invitation came from Max Tegmark, FLI’s co-originator and an MIT professor recognized on the TIME 100 AI roster. “We engaged in extensive discussions with him in recent months,” Weingarten, an influential proponent for educators’ unions, recounted to The Verge during a phone interview. Although she could not attend the New Orleans event, she contributed to the formulation of the document and noted striking parallels between FLI’s perspective and AFT’s own “practical safeguards” for implementing AI in educational settings. “We’ve been pursuing similar paths for some time, unbeknownst to us.”
Joe Allen, co-originator of Humans First and a previous reporter for Bannon’s program War Room, informed The Verge that Tegmark had extended an invitation to him for both the New Orleans summit and a prior preliminary gathering in Manhattan. Despite the diverse participant group being initially disorienting and political friction persisting to some extent, Allen was astonished by their swift consensus on various issues. These included the principle that lethal autonomous weapons ought not to rely exclusively on AI, that AI companies should refrain from exploiting children’s emotional bonds for financial gain, and that AI should not be accorded legal recognition as persons. (Even the proposition with the lowest initial support in the Declaration nevertheless secured endorsement from 94% of participants.)
He drew an analogy, stating, “I view it this way: if there’s awareness of contamination in the water source, or narcotics inundating educational institutions—such widespread issues typically see the majority of individuals oppose them, and it transcends political divides.” AI presented a bit more complexity, as public sentiment regarding particular AI models diverged along political affiliations—Grok being branded the “based” AI and Anthropic the “woke” AI. However, for Allen, this differentiation held no significance. “What do ‘based’ and ‘woke’ even signify anymore?”
“‘We will not possess the privilege of discussing all those other concerns unless we address this matter correctly. Therefore, let us ensure we address this matter correctly.’”
Approximately ten years prior, FLI had articulated a more sanguine collection of tenets for AI research—precisely 23 principles, formulated at the 2017 Asilomar Conference for Beneficial AI, an event that attracted more than one hundred technology pioneers of that era. Those who affixed their names to and supported the Asilomar AI Principles included prominent figures in AI such as Sam Altman, Elon Musk, and Demis Hassabis; distinguished intellectuals like Stephen Hawking and Ray Kurzweil; and delegates from leading corporations including Google, Intel, and Apple.
On this occasion, however, no industry representatives received invitations, let alone individuals of the stature of Altman and Musk. “That constituted a highly intentional strategic decision,” Emilia Javorsky, head of the Futures Program at FLI, informed The Verge. She observed that during conferences and events she had attended concerning AI’s societal ramifications, corporate interests invariably assumed the predominant viewpoint in the room, “owing simply to their substantial scale, influence, and financial resources.” Conversely, those invited hailed from civil society entities, all of whom were undergoing widespread upheaval because of artificial intelligence, and all of whom were exasperated by major technology firms dismissing their worries.
Anthony Aguirre, an additional co-originator of FLI and a distinguished professor of cosmology at UC Santa Cruz, stressed that this declaration did not aim to merely revise the Asilomar Principles, but rather served as a grave recognition of a grim contemporary situation. This new reality saw their erstwhile associates now leading influential corporations, striving to attain artificial general intelligence ahead of competitors and appease stockholders prior to prioritizing safety. The capacity to guide AI’s
Advancement became progressively centralized among a select group, and the Trump administration’s assertive dismantling of regulations had further bolstered their influence. “Aside from the entire human population, there existed one singular force capable of imposing significant limitations on their actions, and that was the American administration,” he informed The Verge. “Now that it endorses them and seeks to preserve their unchecked autonomy, the sole genuine danger originates from rival corporations.”
“Should the authorities decline to act, then the populace must compel the administration to proceed”
Lacking significant tech influence and widespread public oversight, Javorsky noted, a peculiar rapidity marked this group’s unification on identical concerns and their arrival at concordant judgments. Throughout the subsequent days, Javorsky repeatedly encountered the identical declaration: “‘We won’t afford the privilege of discussing all those additional matters if we fail to correctly address this primary concern. Therefore, let us resolve this matter accurately.’”
From Weingarten’s perspective, the Proclamation functioned as the guiding principle of what she termed a “crucial advocacy alliance” — a calculated partnership of dissenting parties — and a method to synchronize all their endeavors in opposition to an administration that prioritized commerce above the populace. “The true significance lies in the fact that others have proposed, ‘Let us endeavor to forge a broader alliance to assert that humankind must be central to artificial intelligence,’” she noted. Independently, AFT might have advanced the concern of juvenile protection, yet their capacity to influence legislators was limited. However, were they to combine efforts with numerous other labor organizations, additionally faith-based groups, and also certain supporters from the opposing political spectrum? Then, those legislators would feel apprehensive. “Should the government refuse to act, the populace must compel it. And that begins with a declaration of tenets.”
“If I were to make a singular remark concerning the entire matter, a point I conveyed to the assembly when I commanded their focus, it is that nobody will construct a movement advocating for humanity. Its sole achievable action is to ignite it,” Allen stated. “I truly believe that pronouncements such as this ought to galvanize a human-centric initiative. Akin to a bedrock charter that dictates the tenor…No measure of societal manipulation, financial investment, journalistic coverage, or anything akin to those, will truly achieve it.”
The precise manifestation of this, however, continues to be obscure — or at minimum, not readily convertible into electoral success. FLI is conducting an advertising drive titled “Safeguard Humanity,” but as a 501(c)3 organization, it is prohibited from backing or advocating for contenders or referendums during the interim elections. They did, nonetheless, carry out a survey with Tavern Research in February, assessing the public acceptance of the Proclamation’s tenets amongst the electorate. Even though participants were clearly divided along political affiliations concerning their voting choices and party allegiance, they robustly endorsed the assertions presented in the Proclamation, by a considerable difference. The least popular tenets — that AI should neither establish monopolies nor centralize authority among a select group — nonetheless obtained 69% approval from those surveyed. The most effective principle — the necessity for humans to maintain command over AI and shield it from endangering youngsters, households, and societies — secured 80% approval.
For Javorsky, the survey outcomes affirmed the conference’s assertions. “It is one matter to gather a multitude of civil society participants in a single space and perceive something as indicative. However, it is imperative to genuinely corroborate those findings with actual individuals. Indeed, this strikes a chord with them.”
During our discussion on Thursday, Anthropic, having lately proposed the prospect of its artificial intelligence achieving sentience, was embroiled in a dispute with the Department of Defense regarding the military’s potential deployment of its AI for self-governing deadly armaments sans human supervision. Come Friday evening, OpenAI betrayed Anthropic to secure its distinct Department of Defense agreement. A few days following the resolution of that conflict, with America utilizing Anthropic-enabled apparatus to assassinate Iran’s supreme leader, additional accounts of impending AI job cuts surfaced, and the magnitude of the Department of Defense’s demands for widespread monitoring became clearer, Alan Minsky, the chief executive of the Progressive Democrats of America and a participant in the gathering, informed The Verge that he anticipated no political dissent regarding the proclamation, from either liberal or conservative factions.
“Altman and Musk, without a doubt, have adopted a cavalier stance regarding what constitute grave perils to societies: the mental decline of a populace that dwells progressively in the digital realm, the effect of persistent financial inequity in wealth distribution, and, naturally, disdain for the notion that fundamental safeguards should precede financial gains,” he stated. “The peril of an existential menace to humankind no longer elicits even a flicker of concern from them. Once the populace apprehends this demeanor of theirs — that they harbor absolute disdain for the common individual’s well-being — indeed, we believe the populace will align with us.”
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