ControlAI seeks $50M yearly to push governments toward banning superintelligent AI development

ControlAI, a nonprofit focused on AI extinction risk, announced it needs $50 million per year in funding to have roughly a 10% chance of achieving an international prohibition on superintelligent AI (ASI — AI systems far more capable than humans) within the next few years. The organization plans to lobby governments and educate the public about AI risks rather than build safety technology itself.

Unlike technical AI safety research, ControlAI's strategy is purely political: convince world leaders that superintelligent AI poses an extinction-level threat serious enough to warrant a coordinated global ban on its development, similar to nuclear nonproliferation agreements.

If you work in tech policy, government, or international relations, this signals a shift in how AI risk advocates are spending money — away from research labs and toward lobbying and diplomacy. The $50M ask also sets a public benchmark: supporters and critics can now measure whether this approach attracts funding and whether it moves policy at the speed ControlAI claims is necessary.