Anthropic and OpenAI under fire as ex-staffer and safety chief warn AI could ‘kill all humans’ without global controls
San Francisco: An artificial intelligence researcher who left OpenAI to join Anthropic has decided to leave the industry, accusing both US companies of “playing with our lives” in the race to develop AI models capable of self-improvement. Jacob Coxon, 27, spent the past three years pretraining AI models, first at OpenAI and then, this year, at its rival Anthropic, which he considered more…
An ex-OpenAI employee, Jacob Coxon, has left the artificial intelligence industry, warning of the dangers posed by the race to create self-improving superintelligent AI. Coxon, who previously worked at the rival company Anthropic, argues that both firms are recklessly racing to develop AI models that could potentially "kill all humans" by the end of the decade.
He claims that the researchers building this technology genuinely believe it poses a significant risk, estimating it at over 10% within the next decade. Anthropic's safety executive, Evan Hubinger, echoed these concerns, stating that while they are taking precautions, they do not yet have a plan to ensure AI systems will remain under human control once they surpass human intelligence.
Coxon's resignation highlights growing fears within the AI community about the potential consequences of unchecked AI development. Government intervention and a coordinated slowdown in AI development have been called for by some experts, such as billionaire Bill Gates and over 1,000 tech industry employees who have urged Washington to support such a slowdown.
However, Anthropic has defended its efforts, stating that they are being cautious but feel pressured to move forward first due to concerns that rivals may not act responsibly.
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