A hundred public figures endorse a document highlighting the vulnerability of citizens and institutions to technological advances.
The rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) have raised concerns about its potential and risks, with governments, experts and business leaders increasingly calling for urgent action. In response to these concerns, a group of national and international figures have signed the OFF Manifesto, which emphasizes the vulnerability of humans and institutions to increasingly advanced and autonomous technology and calls for more decisive action. The Manifesto, unveiled in Madrid, has been signed by individuals from the fields of culture, science, education, psychology, law and media. It is an independent initiative born out of genuine concern about the enormous vulnerability of humans and institutions in the face of poorly directed technological deployment. The Manifesto also highlights the mental health risks associated with early mobile phone use, citing a Sapiens Lab study that found that a child owning a smartphone at the age of 12 increases the likelihood of depression in adulthood by 20% compared to accessing it at 18 years. In Spain, 88% of young people have a smartphone by the age of 13. The Manifesto proposes a series of urgent measures to ensure that technology remains at the service of humanity and not against it. These include the creation of laws and regulations to limit the misuse of technology, especially in terms of surveillance, privacy, and monopolies. It also calls for legally binding regulatory measures to protect citizens from abuses by private companies and, in some cases, authoritarian governments. This includes the prohibition of micro–targeted advertising, the protection of neuro-rights at the constitutional level, international legislation against autonomous lethal weapons, and the «right to disconnect» to ensure non-digital access to especially public services. The signatories have also recommended the implementation of educational initiatives to improve the digital literacy of the population, promoting a deeper understanding of the impacts and limitations of technology and the development of critical skills to handle the technological influence in society.