An Anthropic researcher walked away from the AI race with a serious warning. Jacob Coxon, a 27-year-old AI researcher, left Anthropic after three years of serving the company. Interestingly, he also worked at OpenAI.
However, his resignation was a talking point because of his warning about the advancing AI race. He said, “Spent the last three years doing pretraining research at both OpenAI and Anthropic. Neither company is acting responsibly. They are racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives.”
He added that people building and training AI systems believe, “It could kill us by the end of the decade.” He kept saying that AI researchers and executives often change their phrasing in front of the press and people, but in private they have the same opinion.
The warning comes as Anthropic, OpenAI and other companies keep pushing their AI models forward. There is a clear reason for the rush, as no company wants to fall behind its rivals. Better AI can bring more users, more business, and more money.
Coxon warned people, saying, “Do not underestimate the power of this technology. These will soon be superhuman systems that can hack anything, revolutionize any field overnight, and acquire real power and resources.”
The AI race is now tied to huge business goals. Companies want better models and new AI products before rivals do. Slowing down can feel risky when competitors keep moving.
Also Read: Howard Lutnick Says US Government Trusts Anthropic After Months of Disputes
Competition can speed up new ideas. It can push companies to release better tools faster. The problem starts when speed becomes more important than safety. A company may worry that slowing down will let a rival take the lead. This can create pressure to launch powerful systems before all the risks are clear. Safety checks could then struggle to keep up with rapid progress.
The warning from Coxon shows the concern is not limited to people outside the AI industry. Some researchers inside the field are worried too. AI may bring major benefits, but companies still need to understand its risks before pushing the technology further.