Charles Oppenheimer and Richard Branson sign open letter to stop climate change, pandemics and AI
The raging climate change and increasing risks surrounding artificial intelligence are taking a toll on billions of lives across the globe. Several high-profile figures in business and politics are calling on decision-makers to find long-lasting solutions for the grave danger.
Billionaire Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group, in addition to former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Charles Oppenheimer, the grandson of prominent American physicist J Robert Oppenheimer, have signed an open letter urging action against the challenges.
They have raised serious concerns over the climate crisis, pandemics, nuclear weapons and ungoverned AI. “We face a set of threats that put all humanity at risk. Our leaders are not responding with the wisdom and urgency required,” the letter said.
“Humility to listen to all those affected”
The message asks decision-makers to embrace a long-view strategy and a “determination to resolve intractable problems, not just manage them, the wisdom to make decisions based on scientific evidence and reason, and the humility to listen to all those affected.”
Signatories highlighted the need for urgent multilateral action, including through building global governance needed to make AI a force for good, restarting nuclear arms discussions, financing the transition away from fossil fuels, and signing an equitable pandemic treaty.
The message is also supported by the Future of Life Institute, a non-profit organisation set up by MIT cosmologist Max Tegmark and Skype co-founder Jaan Tallinn, which seeks to steer transformative technology away from large-scale risks.
The letter was released on Thursday by The Elders, an NGO launched by Branson and former South African President Nelson Mandela to address global human rights problems and advocate for international peace, according to CNBC.
Urgent need for “safety engineering”
Speaking to the media agency in an interview, Tegmark said: “The old strategy for steering toward good uses has always been learning from mistakes,” giving the example of the invention of fire, followed by the invention of the fire extinguisher.
“But when the power of the technology crosses a threshold, the ‘learning-from-mistakes’ strategy becomes awful,” he added, underscoring the urgent need for “safety engineering” to tackle the existential risks of climate change and ever more powerful AI.
The letter was issued ahead of the Munich Security Conference, held from February 16 – 18, where government officials, military leaders and diplomats will discuss international security amid escalating armed conflicts across the globe.
