Leading experts on artificial intelligence have signed a statement warning that the technology could pose a risk of extinction like those of pandemics and nuclear war.

The statement, issued by the Center for AI Safety, a US-based non-profit organization, says efforts to lessen the risk from AI should be a global priority.

The statement was signed by more than 350 people including scientists and business leaders who contributed to the development of AI.

They include Sam Altman, CEO of the artificial intelligence firm OpenAI, which developed the dialoguing tool ChatGPT. Geoffrey Hinton, a deep-learning scientist who quit Google to more openly raise awareness of the risks of AI, also signed the statement.

Dan Hendrycks at the Center for AI Safety told the New York Times that even in the industry, the danger of AI is misunderstood as being only a concern for a small number of people. He suggested that many in the AI community privately share concerns about the potential dangers of the cutting-edge technology.