Dear Valued Representatives,

As a constituent living in Johannesburg, I am reaching out to you alongside other Members of Parliament who represent my community and oversee critical national portfolios. Thank you for taking the time to read this appeal.

I am asking you to publicly call for an international agreement to slow down the development of advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI is developing too rapidly for humanity to stay in the driver’s seat, and the people closest to this technology are the ones sounding the alarm:
• The heads of leading AI companies have publicly called for regulatory intervention and a slowdown, acknowledging that voluntary compliance is not enough.
• More than 1,300 industry insiders and employees have signed open letters warning of the systemic risks of unchecked development.
• Overwhelming majorities of the public globally support pausing rapid AI escalation until safety can be guaranteed.
No company can stop on its own, and no single country can either... which is why we urgently need global collaboration.

At the same time, as the leaders overseeing our digital technologies, energy, water, trade, and labour portfolios, I urge you to scrutinise the physical footprint of AI right here at home. The rapid rollout of massive AI data centres consumes immense amounts of electricity continuously and millions of litres of water daily for cooling. In Johannesburg, where our municipal grid and water infrastructure are already under severe strain, unvetted tech contracts and utility allocations threaten local environmental health, job stability, and service delivery.
Please use your voice in Parliament to advocate for an international agreement to slow down advanced AI, while ensuring that local corporate tech contracts and infrastructure projects do not compromise our communities. We have a real chance to get this right, but it takes leadership. So I thank you for yours. And I hope more will thank you for protecting our beautiful home and lives from AI-caused disasters.

Warm Regards and deepest thanks,
Matthew Ndlovu
(Submitted under a pseudonym for public internet privacy)
Constituent – Johannesburg, South Africa