Physicians for AI Safety

Physicians have spoken out before when threats to health were underestimated, as they did on nuclear war and climate change. Powerful AI is now such a threat. Many physicians worry that it could cause severe harm, whether by helping to make biological weapons or engineer new pandemics, being used on battlefields, destabilizing society, drifting away from human values as its capabilities grow, or slipping out of human control altogether. But they often find it hard to voice their concerns. This short statement aims to make that easier, and to show that a large number of physicians see powerful AI as an enormous threat to public health that must be urgently addressed.

The statement

Preventing severe harm from AI should be a global priority, alongside pandemics and nuclear war.

It is open to physicians, residents, and medical students from any country.

Sign the statement

Signatories

    Add your name

    You will receive an email to confirm your signature. Once confirmed and reviewed, your name is added to the list. Your email address is never published.

    Residents: e.g. Psychiatry (resident). Not in clinical practice: your current field, e.g. Health policy, or leave it empty.
    Hospital, practice or university. Shown with your name if you choose to be listed.
    Public listing

    By signing you agree to our privacy notice. You can withdraw your signature at any time by emailing us.

    About this statement

    Physicians have spoken up about civilizational risks before. In 1980, doctors from the United States and the Soviet Union founded International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, arguing that a nuclear war would leave no one to treat, so the only medicine was prevention. The movement received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985. We believe the same argument applies to AI that is powerful enough to cause harm no health system could repair, whether because it is misused or because it slips out of human control.

    This is not a statement against AI. Many of us use AI in our work and welcome it. Our expanded statement sets out the six areas of risk we are most concerned about, and what we support.

    Physicians for AI Safety is an independent initiative started in September 2026 by three physicians from the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom. We are not affiliated with IPPNW, any AI company or any political party.