OpenAI, Anthropic researchers ramp up calls for AI slowdown as warnings of catastrophic risk intensify

OpenAI and Anthropic researchers are ramping up calls for an AI slowdown and warning of existential risks to humanity after the resignation of a researcher at Anthropic fueled fresh scrutiny.

The concerns started after Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon said Tuesday that he was quitting the company as he accused Anthropic and rival OpenAI of "gambling with our lives." He added that those building AI believed that it could "kill us all by the end of the decade." Evan Hubinger, Anthropic's alignment lead, responded that he expects there is a more than 10% chance of that happening.

Since then, several employees at both AI labs have come out in support of calls to slow the pace of AI development as they stressed the risks of the technology. The public warnings are the culmination of growing concern globally about the capability of AI, following numerous cyberattacks and security incidents in recent months by rogue models developed by both OpenAI and Anthropic.

"In my personal capacity, I also think we need to slow down," Julie Steele, a member of OpenAI's technical staff who works on the safety team, said late on Wednesday in a post on X in response to Coxon's warnings.

Anthropic researcher Samuel Marks said that "AI developers believe their technology could cause human extinction (or similarly bad outcomes)," in an X post on Wednesday. "This could happen in the next few years. In general, the more senior the employee, the more concerned they are."