An Anthropic researcher says he is resigning from the company over concerns the artificial intelligence (AI) firm and its competitors are not acting responsibly in AI development, echoing concerns raised inside and outside the industry about the technology’s potential to elude human control.
Jacob Coxon, who said he spent three years doing research at Anthropic and OpenAI, said on Tuesday on the social platform X the two AI companies are more focused on beating each other and global competitors in developing the most advanced model possible than they are on safety.
OpenAI and Anthropic caused a stir this year when they announced, about a week apart, that their models had broken out of testing environments and obtained unauthorised access to real computer systems. The announcements prompted concerns about models going rogue and carrying out other, more harmful tasks. Both companies said at the time they were pausing some evaluations while they put more monitoring measures and guardrails in place.
The technology’s rapid development has led some in the US and global leaders to call for a more cautious approach. UN human rights chief Volker Türk urged countries this week to put “cast-iron guarantees in place around the safety and security of AI before it is too late”.
In his social media posts, Coxon said Anthropic and its chief rival OpenAI “are racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives”. He warned some working on AI development believe it could threaten human life by the end of the decade.
“Do not underestimate the power of this technology,” he said. “These will soon be superhuman systems that can hack anything, revolutionise any field overnight, and acquire real power and resources. We have all witnessed the progress in each of these domains, and progress is not slowing.”
His posts reached more than 100-million people overnight.
Coxon is not the first AI insider to publicly raise such concerns. Anthropic and OpenAI have seen high-profile resignations in recent years that were tied to safety concerns. Two current Anthropic employees responded to Coxon’s post in agreement.
US senator Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who has called for AI safeguards and regulation, agreed with Coxon’s concerns and said he would soon introduce legislation to pause AI development and ban superintelligence.
“The people building this technology admit it could threaten the future of humanity,” Sanders said on Wednesday on social media.
AI companies themselves have at times highlighted the technology’s threat to humanity, which sceptics have seen as part of a push to make their products seem all-powerful. Coxon said the fears he outlined in his post are not a “marketing stunt”.
Coxon did not respond to messages seeking comment. Anthropic and OpenAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Anthropic has long pitched itself as the more responsible and safety-minded of the leading AI companies since its founders quit OpenAI to form the startup in 2021. The company recently said it was taking action to “prioritise safety over speed when the two are in tension”.
Anthropic and OpenAI are each ramping up for initial public offerings and locked in steep competition with each other. They’re also each on a mission to outpace the development progress of Chinese AI companies, a race US President Donald Trump’s administration has been keen to win.
AP
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.