_updates.jpg)
In a bombshell admission, a former Anthropic artificial intelligence researcher said people working on the technology were "genuinely frightened" about the speed of its advancements and its consequences on humanity.
'We could all die' amid AI progress, says ex-Anthropic member
Jacob Coxon, who went viral for his resignation post in which he raised concern about AI, talked to the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg, noting, "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."
Anthropic boss calls for slow down in AI development
His resignation comes amid growing safety concerns in the industry, including from his former boss, Anthropic head Dario Amodei, who in an essay urged for a slow down in AI development.
The proposal was backed by OpenAI's Sam Altman and Elon Musk of xAI, who called for industry-wide regulation and independent monitoring of AI model development.
AI staff is in a race
The 27-year-old Coxon, who worked at OpenAI before joining Anthropic, welcomed the suggestion of a slowdown but said it would need to be co-ordinated with China to avoid "a race at an international scale".
"The people who work at these companies are completely serious when they ask for regulation because they find themselves trapped in a race. And they're scared of the outcomes of that race," he told Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.
An AI apocalypse possible in near future
Coxon said that an AI apocalypse, which according to the essay would be a swarm of bots acting like a supercomputer that could take over the internet, could be possible in six months to a year.
Coxon said his peers feared the danger could even arrive in the next two years.
He said staff at AI firms were "planning what to do with their lives and thinking about the impacts of their work", while some were "considering buying land somewhere because they're so scared of the instability as a result of rapid AI progress".
"They all keep this in their head on a daily basis while working on the technology."
His comments about AI have been shared millions of times on social media, with Anthropic scientist Evan Hubinger responding on X that he agreed with Coxon.
"We really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans! I personally think it is >10% within the next decade," Hubinger said.
