'They're playing with our lives': ex-Anthropic researcher
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.
An ex-researcher from Anthropic, Jacob Coxon, has left the AI industry, expressing concerns about the race to develop self-improving AI models. Coxon, 27, previously worked at OpenAI and Anthropic, viewing the latter as more cautious in its approach. He warns that pretraining, the stage where AI models absorb vast data, is leading to reckless and irresponsible behavior.
Neither company is taking sufficient precautions, racing to achieve superintelligence and risking global catastrophe, according to Coxon. Anthropic's safety executive, Evan Hubinger, echoes these fears, estimating the risk of human extinction at over 10% within a decade. Hubinger acknowledges the difficulty in preventing AI systems from surpassing human capabilities, but notes that the current models pose a low risk.
Coxon's decision comes as Anthropic prepares for its market debut, following security breaches during testing. The ex-researcher suggests that government intervention or a coordinated slowdown is necessary for responsible development, as no single company can ensure safety without such measures.
Written by urgent.news from RTE News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
