An artificial intelligence researcher who recently resigned from AI firm Anthropic has revealed that industry professionals are “genuinely frightened” by the rapid speed of technological advancement and its potential consequences for humanity. Jacob Coxon, 27, spoke out after his resignation post outlining the dangers of AI went viral amid intensifying global safety concerns.
“I believe that if we don’t slow down at the current rate of progress, there is a strong chance that we could all die in the immediate future,” Coxon said during an interview on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, emphasizing that “there is a possibility of human extinction.”
Calls for Industry-Wide Deceleration
His former employer, Anthropic chief Dario Amodei, recently published an essay arguing that while developing the technology is not in doubt, the associated risks are “serious.” Amodei called for a temporary slowdown to allow governments and companies sufficient time to address these dangers, though some critics have questioned the underlying motivations behind his proposal.
The heads of rival AI firms have expressed support for Amodei’s call for deceleration, including
- Sam Altmanof OpenAI, who backs industry-wide deceleration and regulation.
- Elon Muskof xAI, who agrees with the need for independent monitoring of AI model development.
Coxon, who worked at OpenAI before his tenure at Anthropic, welcomed these proposals but cautioned that any successful slowdown must be globally co-ordinated with China to prevent “a race at an international scale.” He noted that company employees are serious about regulation because they feel “trapped in a race” and are deeply afraid of its ultimate outcomes.
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