AI researcher claims he resigned from Anthropic over threat to the human race. His post is going viral

Former Anthropic and OpenAI AI researcher Jacob Coxon has sparked a social media debate by claiming he resigned from Anthropic due to concerns over the technology's potential to wipe out humanity within a decade. In a viral X post, Coxon wrote that both OpenAI and Anthropic are racing to develop superintelligent AI systems, gambling with human lives in the process.

He expressed deep concern that at its current trajectory, AI could soon create systems capable of hacking anything, revolutionizing fields overnight, and acquiring power and resources at the expense of humanity. Coxon argued that participating in an AI arms race is a hubristic gamble that should not be launched from a private company's Slack.

Evan Hubinger, an alignment science lead at Anthropic, responded to Coxon's comments, affirming the company's belief that AI could indeed pose an existential threat. Hubinger emphasized that while Anthropic is working diligently, they do not currently have a plan to solve alignment for superintelligence. Samuel Marks, another Anthropic employee, echoed similar concerns, signing an open letter urging the industry to slow down and reflect on the safety of AI development.

The controversy has also caught the attention of Senator Bernie Sanders, who vowed to introduce legislation potentially banning superintelligence and halting AI development.