Richard Branson and Oppenheimer's grandson among those warning about future AI risks

• Richard Branson and other public figures have signed an open letter warning of AI risks.
• The letter, issued by The Elders and the Future of Life Institute, urges world leaders to take action.

Richard Branson and the grandson of J. Robert Oppenheimer are among the signatories of an open letter warning of the risks of uncontrolled AI.

The letter, issued by The Elders group and the non-profit Future of Life Institute, said the world faced a set of threats that put humanity at risk and accused world leaders of failing to respond with the "wisdom and urgency" required.

The Elders, founded by Nelson Mandela in 2007, is a non-governmental organization made up of public figures working together for peace and human rights.

The letter highlights risks including the climate crisis, global pandemics and nuclear weapons, as well as future threats posed by the likes of AI. It said world leaders lacked the will or capability to take decisive action on the risks, accusing them of seeking short-term fixes over long-term solutions.

The letter said: "Some of these threats jeopardize the very existence of life on Earth. We do not yet know how significant the emerging risks associated with artificial intelligence will be. The signatories of this letter call on world leaders to work together to address these existential threats more decisively."

Former UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon, activist Annie Lennox, and AI godfather Geoffrey Hinton were among the names calling for action to address the escalating risks.

The Future of Life Institute has previously expressed concerns about AI risks.

Last year, the institute wrote an open letter requesting a six-month pause on training AI systems more powerful than GPT-4. Elon Musk and multiple experts signed that letter.

Representatives for Branson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.