Artificial intelligence may pose a societal risk as serious as pandemics or nuclear war, according to a statement released by the Center for AI Safety. The one-sentence warning quickly gained attention after being signed by more than 350 researchers and tech leaders from companies such as Google and Microsoft, highlighting growing concern within the field itself.

Among the signatories were Geoffrey Hinton and Yoshua Bengio, often called the “godfathers of AI” for their pioneering work in deep learning. Their involvement has drawn even more attention, as both helped build the foundations of the AI systems now raising fears about their future impact and control.

The statement arrives amid rising anxiety about how AI is already affecting society. Tools like ChatGPT and other generative systems are reshaping industries, raising concerns about job losses, misinformation, and deepfake content that could influence public opinion and even elections. These developments are often seen as early signs of larger risks if the technology continues to advance rapidly.

At the center of the debate is artificial general intelligence, or AGI—systems that could potentially match or exceed human intelligence across a wide range of tasks. While some experts, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, believe this is still far off, others warn progress could accelerate faster than expected. For now, researchers argue that safety rules and ethical guidelines need to develop alongside AI, not after it.