The Daily Wire headlined it "Anthropic Researcher Claims AI Could ‘Kill Us All,’ Publicly Quits". CNBC headlined it "Anthropic researcher says AI has more than 10% chance of 'killing all humans' after colleague quits". A researcher at Anthropic resigned publicly, saying artificial intelligence could pose a threat to humanity's survival.
The Guardian headlined it "Anthropic researchers say AI could cause human extinction by 2030". CoinDesk headlined it "AI could kill us, Anthropic researcher says after resigning". A colleague at the company then agreed with that assessment in public remarks.
CNBC said: "Jacob is correct here—we really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans! I personally think it is >10% within the next decade."1 The colleague went further, putting a number on the risk.
Other researchers at the company have voiced similar concern about the pace of development. "The idea of racing forward at all costs seems absurd once one internalizes the seriousness of the stakes,"2, Axios said. "We can't pause. You can't, because the Chinese won't pause,"2, Axios added. "Commercial and geopolitical competition in the AI space is incredibly intense, leading to a concerning dynamic where companies are incentivized to release products before their risks are fully understood,"3, Decrypt noted.
The warnings drew swift reaction from lawmakers, with one pledging new action. CNBC said: "The very people building this technology admit that it could threaten the future of humanity. That is why I will soon be introducing legislation to ban superintelligence and pause AI development."1
Not everyone has taken the warnings at face value. Some have questioned whether the alarm serves the company's own interests. The Daily Wire said: "Everything these frontier AI clowns do is a marketing stunt. There is always an angle. LLMs are not some sentient, destructive force. I can't believe we have looped back into the doom hype phase."4 The Daily Wire stated: "Sacks, who previously slammed Anthropic's safety alerts as a "4sales pitch" and "scare tactic" to hype their products, is still skeptical of the lab's motives."4
Others have raised questions about the circumstances surrounding the resignation itself, without offering a definitive account. The Daily Wire added: "None of this proves anyone orchestrated Coxon's resignation. But it does complicate the image of an entirely spontaneous uprising of terrified independent experts."4
The episode has renewed broader public discussion about the risks posed by advanced artificial intelligence systems and how policymakers should respond.
