Over 200 prominent figures, including senior staffers at AI companies, call for international action to create “red lines” for AI development by the end of 2026
This intervention extends a recurring effort to turn broad AI-risk warnings into concrete governance boundaries. A 2023 statement from leading AI figures framed extinction risk as a global priority, while earlier EU advocacy sought wider high-risk classifications and outright bans for some uses.
It also follows calls for safe-harbor protections for independent AI research, underscoring that AI governance debates span both limits on development and the ability to scrutinize systems. The new coalition makes internationally agreed development red lines, rather than principles alone, the immediate focus.
First-order effects
The signatories place a public end-of-2026 target on governments and international bodies to define prohibited or unacceptable AI-development paths.
Senior staff participation makes the appeal relevant to AI companies’ internal governance posture, even though the call itself does not impose obligations on those firms.
Second-order effects
Labs and policymakers may face greater pressure to state whether they support enforceable development limits or prefer voluntary safety commitments; this sharpens a divide already visible in demands for broader high-risk AI rules.
A red-lines agenda could concentrate debate on which capabilities or applications merit bans, bringing development governance closer to the longstanding campaign against autonomous weapons.
Third-order effects
If such coalitions continue to draw both industry insiders and outside advocates, AI governance may shift from general safety principles toward negotiated limits on particular forms of development and deployment.
The durable constraint is international coordination: agreement on red lines would require governments and companies to converge on definitions, enforcement, and scope, not merely endorse shared concern.
The trend: AI-safety advocacy is moving from warning about extreme risks toward seeking internationally coordinated, enforceable boundaries for AI development.
This broke through to me on holiday, amazing work! It's great to see such an extensive lists of massive names who often disagree about AI coming together to say the thing every reasonable person in AI understands: We need red lines, and we have to get them right.
My endorsment to https://red-lines.ai/ : AI Red Lines need unity of knowing and acting, both from human and from AI, and it takes the World to save ourselves and our next generations. [image]
I've signed this call for global red lines on AI. I believe that without international regulation of AI, our chances of survival are slim. With the development of artificial superintelligence likely just a small number of years away, we need action on this urgently. [image]
Maria Ressa announcing the call at the opening of the UN General Assembly: “We urge governments to establish clear international boundaries to prevent unacceptable risks for AI. At the very least, define what AI should never be allowed to do” [image]
Proud to have initiated this call with CeSIA, the French Center for AI Safety, in partnership with The Future Society and the Center for Human-Compatible AI, with the support of 20 partner organizations.
These are nonsensical statements. Bengio and others are welcome to suggest specific proposals that are technically sound and can implemented in evals, but too often these speeches are vibes-based posturing from people not building AI systems and want to regulate not just their
🚨BREAKING: This is HUGE. An unprecedented coalition including 8 former heads of state and ministers, 10 Nobel laureates, 70+ organizations, and 200+ public figures just made a joint call for global red lines on AI. It was announced in the UN General Assembly today! Thread 🧵 [imag…
Establishing where we collectively draw red lines is essential to prevent unacceptable AI risks. See the statement signed by myself and over 200 prominent figures: https://red-lines.ai/
To prevent the worst risks of AI, we need global red lines on AI development. ControlAI is proud to join 200+ former heads of state, ministers, diplomats, Nobel laureates, AI scientists, political leaders and 70+ organizations in this call! [image]
Signatories include @geoffreyhinton, @Yoshua_Bengio, @JosephEStiglitz, @JuanManSantos, Mary Robinson, @EnricoLetta, @woj_zaremba, @goodfellow_ian and many others (incl. @stephenfry). Also notable Chinese signatories, incl. @yaqinzhang and Huang Tiejun. [image]
A big deal: 200 eminent leaders, included Nobelists, AI experts and former heads of state, have signed a letter delivered to the UN calling for “international red lines to prevent unacceptable AI risks”. I joined them. We have let too much slide, and done too little to face the…
The time for AI self-regulation is over. 200 Nobel laureates, former heads of state, and industry experts just signed a statement: “We urgently call for international red lines to prevent unacceptable AI risks” The call was presented at the UN General Assembly today by Maria Res…
An unprecedented coalition of 200+ Nobel Prize winners, heads of state, and organizations urged the UN for binding international ‘red lines’ to control AI before it's too late