An $8 million advertising blitz has been launched in the US as activist groups seek to curtail the growing power of tech companies and support regulations on artificial intelligence.
The campaign, called Protect What’s Human, is funded by the Future of Life Institute, a non-profit group that says it promotes the idea of steering “transformative technology towards benefiting life and away from extreme large-scale risks”.
A narrator in one of the 60-second ads says: “Will the next generation of Americans grow up with the friends and mentors, teachers and coaches, and first dates that shaped us? Will they value their creativity now that anything can be imagined by an app and will they be able to think for themselves?”
The narrator then says machines cannot raise children, and that “we should have a say” in the future of AI.
In another 60-second video, a narrator says “our hands built America”, adding that “the most important intelligence is human and that's why hands that built this country must build what comes next". Concluding text reads: “Protect what's human, regulate AI.”
Among those endorsing the ad campaign is Megan Garcia, who sued Google and Character.ai after her son took his own life following lengthy conversations with an AI chatbot. Ms Garcia and the technology companies later settled the lawsuits out of court, but similar incidents and litigation have become more common in recent years amid a proliferation of AI tools.
Before taking a prominent role in the continuing advertising campaign, Ms Garcia testified before Congress while calling for the technology sector to be held more accountable. She has even had an audience with Pope Leo XIV.
Late last year, the Future of Life Institute made headlines for bringing together hundreds of prominent politicians, technology experts, business leaders and celebrities to sign a petition calling for the prohibition of the development of AI superintelligence.
Superintelligence is technology's hypothetical ability to perform highly advanced cognitive functions and develop reasoning skills that would surpass those of humans.
Entrepreneur Richard Branson, former US president Barack Obama's national security adviser Susan Rice, conservative media personality Glenn Beck and actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt were among those to sign the petition. Britain's Prince Harry, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and conservative activist Steve Bannon also joined.
Future of Life’s advertising campaign comes at a time when polls show an increase in anxiety in the US when it comes to the topic of AI. The fears are rooted in issues such as the threat of job displacements, as well as concerns about AI tools falling into the wrong hands.
In recent months, there has been a bipartisan push to increase regulatory oversight of AI.
Last Wednesday, Gordon-Levitt, alongside Democratic and Republican members of Congress, appeared in Washington to speak on the repeal of Section 230, which legally distances social media companies from the content posted by their users.
“These amoral companies keep allowing these awful things to happen on their platform and they won't do anything about it because they always prioritise profits over the public good, even when it comes to kids,” Gordon-Levitt said.
US President Donald Trump, however, has sought to remove guardrails for American tech companies in a push to maintain the lead in the AI race, with some observers saying China is catching up.
The White House has sought to blunt the impact of local laws throughout the country that are aimed at regulating the burgeoning technology, saying regulations are unnecessarily burdensome for technology companies.
Organisers behind Future of Life Institute's campaign, however, insist their vision is not anti-technology. “It’s pro-human,” the organisation said. “We believe in progress and innovation, just not at the expense of our dignity, our communities, or our families.”
