Bob Leaf

In His Words

Letters from the work

Bob writes constantly, often with AI at his side, and says so openly. These are sentences he wrote or sent under his own name, dated as he wrote them.

On urgency

October 2025

This spring as a retired dentist and entrepreneur… I too was watching TV in the evenings. What I heard was truly alarming.

Bob Letter to old friends telling how his new work began
October 2025

As I listened carefully, like my son, I could not just sit by and let this happen to humanity.

Bob Letter to old friends, on hearing AI's builders warn of catastrophe
October 2025

It is hard to turn down a job which includes saving the human race.

Bob Letter to old friends, on why he went back to work
October 2026

Eighteen months ago, I was happily retired when I realized that humanity is in serious danger from AI. I ended my retirement that day.

Bob Introducing himself in a letter, October 2026
August 2025

Failure is not an option.

Bob Early email launching his mission
October 2025

Once you fully understand how much humanity is at risk for great harm, you can not stand by and let the people on the street at the restaurants suffer or worse. How many times are you offered a chance to save humanity?

Bob Email to a friend about why he returned to work
September 2026

My goals have not changed. The urgency has.

Bob Letter inviting faith leaders to a founding committee
August 2025

Think of building dinosaurs and releasing them all over the planet with no fences.

Bob Explaining AI risk in an early mission email
November 2025

I liken it to a rambunctious teenager who makes a lot of mistakes although clearly brilliant.

Bob Long letter setting out his views on AI
October 2026

Three years ago these warnings came from the edges. Today they come from the heads of the leading AI companies.

Bob Planning note to collaborators

On children

October 2026

We are doing this for our grandchildren and for yours.

Bob Cover note to his paper 'From Pugwash to AI Safety', sent to family and friends
September 2026

A 99 percent safety rating is a complete failure when the remaining one percent can mean serious harm to a child, or worse.

Bob Letter to a colleague
September 2026

…that subject is the very reason I came out of retirement.

Bob Letter to a friend, on children's wellbeing in the age of AI
November 2025

We do not want to see our beautiful children or grandchildren be harmed in any way.

Bob Email about protecting children from AI
July 2026

No part of humanity will oppose keeping children safe. And all agree that children are the most vulnerable. So we lead with them to move the entire train.

Bob On why his convening plans lead with children
October 2026

This is the part of the work closest to my heart.

Bob On the children's session he hopes the planned convening will hold
July 2026

I strongly believe that for users under age 13 the only safe option is a bounded system.

Bob Email on AI for children under 13

On responsibility

July 2026

You can not say I did so much good it is ok if I kill a few children.

Bob On holding the builders of AI accountable
July 2026

The LLM and its owners must face clear consequences for any actions that are not in concert with human well-being. If we can build systems to reinforce that we have a real chance.

Bob Email on accountability for AI systems
October 2026

Science can write the standard, faith can give it moral weight, and insurance and liability can make it stick.

Bob Letter to colleagues, October 2026
September 2026

I do not say regulation fails; I say something I learned across fifty years in insurance: regulation works late, and insurance works first.

Bob Draft letter to an AI-safety researcher
July 2026

The root problem is that we have never clearly established that the owners of these systems are responsible for the harm they cause — a principle as old as the Bible: man must be accountable for his actions.

Bob Letter to colleagues, July 2026

On faith and convening

August 2026

I am here on earth only to do good for others. There is nothing more important.

Bob Replying to a friend's email signature, a line from W. H. Auden
October 2026

We are all doing God's work.

Bob Closing a Dignity Accords outreach note
July 2026

…a message from this group will be heard around the planet.

Bob On a joint message from the world's religious leaders
October 2026

…I must remain independent, so that no one could believe my initiative favors one religion over another. But independence does not mean distance.

Bob On keeping the Accords independent of any one tradition

On himself

October 2026

I agree completely about the teeth, and as a dentist I know a lot about teeth.

Bob Replying to advice that the Accords need 'teeth'
October 2025

I have a new full time job 12 hours a day 7 days a week, and I have to pay to work there.

Bob On his new full-time job, October 2025
March 2026

It is the hardest job in the world.

Bob On the work he took on after retirement
January 2026

My history is more standard. Good student, silver spoon, but always hard work and I love challenges. Change is what you expect and prepare for, Clear vision of the future has always come naturally and Confidence I can do anything and I do. I am 81 years old, a dentist, and 5'4"

Bob Describing himself in a letter
February 2026

My specialty in life is getting past barriers. Blow up the wall, fly over it, or go around it; just get past it quickly.

Bob Email on the work ahead
February 2026

We are all from the for Profit world. We are highly action oriented. We call ourselves the doers.

Bob On the people he works with, February 2026
November 2025

I am a great believer in family first no matter how pressing the business or opportunity.

Bob On how he led his companies
August 2025

Yarin you are 100% correct… I frequently get ahead of myself.

Bob Accepting advice to 'walk before we can run'
September 2026

Ladies and Gentlemen, tear it apart, and share your comments before it spreads wider.

Bob Sending a draft paper to colleagues for critique
September 2026

…I would rather be corrected early than politely encouraged.

Bob Asking a university AI-safety center for honest criticism
October 2026

I am guilty of doing just what annoys me.

Bob Apologizing for a slow reply
October 2026

We had two days of panel discussions about AI, and I constantly suggested less talk and more action.

Bob Recalling a conference on AI, May 2026
August 2026

I am in love with the work we are attempting to do.

Bob Email to a friend about his new work
September 2026

He says it is hard. I like hard. That means in my language, it's doable with enough resources and persistence.

Bob On a colleague's verdict that one of his AI-safety ideas is hard
September 2026

I use AI actively every day, never passively, and at 82 my mind has expanded, not shrunk.

Bob On how he uses AI himself
September 2026

When the machine does the thinking, the mind weakens. When the machine makes the person think, the mind grows.

Bob Reflecting on a study of how people use AI, September 2026
August 2026

…I seek neither recognition nor reward.

Bob Email to a friend about his current efforts
September 2026

I am a very proud Dad. This major achievement recognizes my son David's work and his appointment to a prominent role at Harvard Medical School. I could not be happier.

Bob Sharing news of his son's appointment, September 2026
June 2019

This institution has the ability to inspire its graduates.

Bob Accepting Harvard's Distinguished Alumni Award

Keep AI Safe

October 2026

We host and serve. We do not lead.

Bob Proposing that Keep AI Safe host a call among U.S. children's-safety groups
October 2026

No AI company money funds this effort.

Bob Ground rule for the proposed children's-safety coalition
October 2026

Evidence first. Every claim in the brief needs a source we can show.

Bob Ground rules for a children's evidence brief

Boundlia

July 2026

Once a child speaks or writes through AI they are not protected.

Bob On privacy, when children speak or write through AI
April 2026

We need the certification and the consumer digest to be completely arms length from the Talking Toy Company.

Bob On keeping safety certification independent of the toy company

The Dignity Accords

July 2026

…I call it the Dignity Accords.

Bob Giving the convening its name, July 2026
July 2026

It must be a meeting of equals, focused solely on the safety of the human race.

Bob On the convening he hopes to assemble, July 2026
August 2026

The table I am describing—the great traditions each in their own voice alongside the leading scientists—is the one I am working to assemble, not one that has yet agreed. Some of these are relationships I have begun and some are doors I have not yet knocked on.

Bob Clarifying to a correspondent who has and has not agreed
July 2026

I want some honest feedback and constructive ways that this can be improved. If you believe this will ultimately cause harm, I would also want that warning.

Bob Sharing his convening idea and asking for criticism
October 2026

My job is merely convener and let the experts figure out how to make it safe.

Bob Email to a new contact
September 2026

The declaration is the occasion; the body is the outcome.

Bob On the declaration and the international body it should create
October 2026

We affirm that every human being is responsible for his or her actions, and that this responsibility does not end when we build a machine to act for us.

Bob Opening line of a working draft, shared for comment

Medical Discoveries

July 2026

The hospital already owns the raw material. What it lacks is the layer that makes the raw material usable…

Bob Explainer on hospital records
October 2026

We are using AI to improve the quality of human existence and convening religious leaders to extend the moral imperative of keeping AI safe.

Bob Note to a new contact about his work
July 2026

…for now we are in startup mode and need to establish a proof of concept