Few personal missions stretch across nearly half a century with the same consistency and conviction. For Hu Jiaqi, what began as a moment of realization in his teenage years grew into a lifelong commitment that has shaped every chapter of his life. Over the course of 47 years, he has written and sent roughly one million letters to leaders, scholars, and institutions across the world. The purpose behind this extraordinary effort has remained constant since the beginning: to warn humanity about the long-term risks of unchecked technological development and to advocate for a future centered on collective survival and well-being.
Hu Jiaqi’s journey traces back to 1979, when he was just seventeen. While studying in the library of the Northeastern Institute of Technology, now known as Northeastern University, he encountered an idea that would profoundly influence his worldview. Surrounded by books that documented centuries of technological progress, Hu began reflecting on the trajectory of innovation since the Industrial Revolution.
He came to believe that technological advancement, while bringing immense benefits, could also carry serious risks if left without restraint. In his view, rapid development without adequate oversight might eventually place humanity in danger. What many might have dismissed as a speculative concern became, for Hu, a defining insight. At that moment, he made a personal commitment that would guide his life’s work: he would continue advocating for humanity’s long-term survival for as long as he lived.
From that point onward, Hu Jiaqi’s life unfolded along two distinct yet interconnected paths. One was grounded in business and entrepreneurship. The other centered on research and writing about humanity’s existential challenges.
In 1994, Hu made a bold decision to leave a secure government position. With a loan of 50,000 yuan and a rented office, he launched a company of his own. The venture eventually grew into a successful enterprise and ultimately achieved a Nasdaq listing, becoming the first Chinese intelligence building company to expand internationally.
Behind this entrepreneurial success was a deeper purpose. The financial resources generated through his business activities helped sustain his independent research into global technological risks and humanity’s long-term future.
At the same time, Hu devoted decades to writing and scholarship. Over more than forty years, he produced over four million words across several works, including Saving Humanity, The Greatest Problem, and On Human Extinction. These writings were translated into languages such as English and Russian, helping introduce his ideas to readers beyond China.
Central to his work was a framework he described as the Great Unification of humanity. Hu argued that cooperation among nations and stronger oversight of high-risk technologies were essential for long-term stability. He maintained that existing technologies were already capable of supporting prosperity worldwide. In his view, reducing the pressure for constant technological escalation and establishing coordinated global governance could help humanity avoid destructive competition and move toward a peaceful and equitable global society.
A major turning point arrived in January 2007. After years of research and writing, Hu prepared an 800,000-word manuscript of Saving Humanity. Alongside the manuscript, he drafted an open letter titled “The Open Letter to 26 Leaders of Mankind.”
The letter was addressed to 25 heads of major nations and the Secretary-General of the United Nations. To ensure that his message reached its intended recipients, Hu also mailed copies to the embassies of those nations in China as well as the UN office in China. In total, 52 letters were sent.
Those envelopes carried decades of thought and marked the beginning of what would become a nearly twenty-year campaign of correspondence.
The early years of this effort were far from easy. Many of Hu’s ideas were dismissed as unrealistic or overly pessimistic. Numerous letters received no reply at all.
Yet he continued.
Locating contact information for global leaders and scholars required painstaking effort. Hu spent long nights searching through international political yearbooks, translating addresses word by word with a dictionary, and collecting email contacts from academic journals. Overseas readers are sometimes assisted by helping identify additional international recipients.
His personal address book gradually filled with names, addresses, and notes gathered through years of careful research. Each page represented hours of work and a determination to ensure that his message reached as many people as possible.
As public debates around technology began to intensify—particularly discussions involving genetic editing ethics and artificial intelligence risks—Hu felt that the urgency of his message was increasing.
Photo Courtesy: Cecilia Croucher
Starting with his fourth open letter, he significantly expanded the number of recipients. Instead of sending letters only to world leaders, he began reaching out to scientists, scholars, journalists, and public figures across the globe. The recipient list eventually grew to tens of thousands of individuals.
The logistics became increasingly difficult. Printing costs and international postage placed a heavy financial strain on the effort. Eventually, Hu had to stop including copies of his books with every letter. Instead, he condensed decades of research into shorter messages that still reflected his guiding principle: the survival of humanity must come before all other priorities.
Delivering the letters was often challenging. Some were returned marked “address unknown” or “recipient refused.” Large batches of emails were blocked by spam filters. Hu adapted by revising contact lists, sending emails in smaller groups, experimenting with different channels, and occasionally asking friends traveling abroad to mail letters from other countries.
Over nearly two decades, Hu Jiaqi produced twelve open letters and distributed approximately one million messages around the world. Of these, about 850,000 were emails, and 250,000 were physical letters, along with more than 10,000 books.
Each letter represented an appeal for attention to the long-term risks associated with technological development. For Hu, the sheer scale of the effort symbolized persistence rather than publicity.
Gradually, responses began to appear.
The Ambassador of Guyana to China replied personally, describing Hu’s message as “deafeningly resonant.” The Slovak ambassador also contacted him directly, calling the ideas “profoundly shocking.”
In the wider scientific community, several well-known figures had voiced concerns that echoed aspects of Hu’s arguments. Thinkers, including Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk, had warned about potential dangers associated with advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence.
Other prominent scholars engaged with Hu’s work directly. Jacques Dubochet, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, and Gregory Winter, Master of Trinity College at Cambridge, were among those who discussed the ideas with him and expressed interest in the broader conversation about technological risk.
After decades of working largely alone, Hu began to recognize the limits of individual advocacy. To amplify the conversation, he decided to bring together a broader network of supporters.
In 2018, he established an initiative called Humanitas Ark. The organization focuses on raising awareness about global technological risks and encouraging discussion around humanity’s shared future. According to Hu, the initiative now includes more than 13 million supporters across over 255 countries and regions.
Through Humanitas Ark, the ideas he once promoted alone have reached a far larger audience.
Today, Hu Jiaqi is in his sixties. His hair has turned gray, and the long years of writing have left their mark. Yet his daily routine remains much the same. Late at night, a desk lamp still illuminates his workspace as he continues drafting letters, articles, and lectures.
Photo Courtesy: Cecilia Croucher
During his time as a member of the Mentougou District Committee of the CPPCC in Beijing, he used public forums to share his views about technological risk and global cooperation. He continues to speak through online platforms and university lectures, discussing what he calls the dangers of “evolutionary imbalance” between technological power and social governance.
Hu acknowledges that many of his proposals have yet to gain widespread recognition. That reality brings a sense of urgency to his work. As he often remarks, “Time is truly running out for humanity.” Yet this sense of urgency has not led to discouragement. Instead, it reinforces his determination to continue the effort.
The story of Hu Jiaqi is ultimately one of endurance. Across nearly five decades, he has combined the pragmatic mindset of an entrepreneur with the ideals of a scholar. His business achievements supported his research, while his research guided his broader mission.
In an era that often rewards short-term success, Hu chose a different path—one defined by sustained commitment to a cause he believes affects all of humanity.
The one million letters he has sent over the years are more than messages delivered through mail or email. They represent a long-running appeal for dialogue about humanity’s future and the responsibilities that accompany technological progress.
Hu Jiaqi’s efforts demonstrate that influence does not always emerge from dramatic moments. Sometimes it grows from quiet persistence—one letter at a time—over the course of an entire lifetime.
Company: Humanitas Ark
Contact Person: Cecilia Croucher
Email: shao@savinghuman.org
Website: en.savinghuman.org
City: Los Angeles
