The most important open letter in years dropped yesterday.

This letter noticeably increases my hope that we will manage to not die, and that we will otherwise be able to secure for ourselves a positive future, both by its impact and by the evidence it provides that such a letter can get this level of support.

Signed by 1,224 employees of frontier labs including many heavy hitters, and now endorsed by both OpenAI and Anthropic, here is its full text, which I also endorse:

AI could help create a dramatically better future, but that outcome is not guaranteed. The world's leading AI companies believe they could be close to automating AI research. It is hard to predict exactly how much this will accelerate AI progress, but there is a real risk that capability development rapidly accelerates beyond our ability to understand or control the resulting systems.

To realize AI's potential, industry, government, and society at large may need the option to buy time to address emerging risks, develop security measures, and strengthen oversight. But each company—and country—is under intense competitive pressure not to unilaterally slow that acceleration. And today, the world lacks the technical and [...]

---

Outline:

(02:20) A Very Good Letter

(04:37) Who Signed The Letter

(08:26) We Need To Prepare Now So We Have The Option To Do This

(11:02) Words From Some Of Those Who Signed

(16:48) Words From Others

(20:58) A Good Start

(28:52) What The Letter Does Not Say

(30:44) What Happens Now?

---

First published:
July 29th, 2026