Anthropic researcher's resignation sends warning about the dangers of AI development

Jacob Coxon, a 27-year-old researcher at Anthropic, has resigned from his position citing concerns that the company and its competitors, including OpenAI, are not prioritizing safety in their artificial intelligence development. According to Coxon, the companies are more focused on beating each other in developing the most advanced model possible. He expressed his concerns on the social platform X, stating that the people building AI "earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade."

Coxon, who spent three years working at both Anthropic and OpenAI, warned that current AI models will soon give way to "superhuman systems" that can breach digital defenses, transform fields quickly, and accumulate power and resources. He drew a distinction between his two former employers, stating that while OpenAI's civilizational stakes have not been "deeply internalized," Anthropic understands the risks but is "locked in a race to get there first."

Anthropic's alignment science lead, Evan Hubinger, responded to Coxon's concerns, reaffirming that the company does earnestly believe AI could kill all humans, with Hubinger personally thinking it is a 10% risk within the next decade. Coxon's resignation and comments have sparked a conversation about the responsible development of AI and the potential risks associated with it.

Brief written by urgent.news from PBS NewsHour, PBS NewsHour Science, MercoPress, SiliconANGLE, Winnipeg Free Press — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.