The petition
We are calling for a temporary, capability-based pause on training the next generation of substantially more powerful frontier AI systems when independent evaluators cannot adequately test their dangerous capabilities before deployment. The pause should end when defined evaluation, incident-response and security requirements can be met.
Why this is different from stopping AI
This is not a request to shut down AI products, university research, medical applications, open scientific work or ordinary commercial deployment. The focus is the small number of projects pushing the frontier of general-purpose capability at very large scale, particularly where developers themselves cannot confidently rule out severe misuse or control risks.
Why supporters want a brake
The 2026 International AI Safety Report describes growing evidence of AI use in cyber operations, heightened concern about biological misuse and increasing difficulty conducting reliable pre-deployment evaluations. If capability advances faster than the tools used to test it, waiting for a serious incident may be an unusually expensive way to discover where the boundary was.
Why the objection is serious
A unilateral American pause could move investment, talent and strategic capability overseas. Safety thresholds can also become incumbent-friendly regulation that only the largest companies can afford. Any pacing mechanism therefore needs precise triggers, independent oversight, international coordination where feasible and a fixed process for lifting restrictions.
What we are asking for
Define measurable frontier thresholds, require independent evaluation above them, establish emergency incident-reporting and model-security standards, and create a temporary stop mechanism only when a developer cannot demonstrate that those safeguards are ready. The burden should be proportional to capability, not imposed on every company that uses AI.
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