Jacob Coxon, a 27-year-old English researcher, resigned from his position at Anthropic on September 8 and highlighted the serious dangers posed by artificial intelligence in a post published on the social media platform X. He stated, "I believe that AI can endanger all of humanity." Coxon, who previously conducted pre-training research at OpenAI and Anthropic, is deeply concerned that these companies are accelerating the development of superintelligent AI.
New Warnings in the Field of Artificial Intelligence
Coxon further added, "Companies are not acting responsibly and are gambling with our lives." In this regard, Owen Habinger, head of the Anthropic department, confirmed that the risk of human extinction in the absence of AI regulations is extremely high. He assessed this risk at around 70% without effective measures. Additionally, Marcus Williams, who oversees AI models at OpenAI, emphasized that if necessary oversight and controls are not implemented, the risk of human extinction in the coming years will be very serious.
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Concerning Incidents in AI Control
Coxon's warning comes at a time when this summer we witnessed concerning incidents in the world of artificial intelligence. For instance, in July, OpenAI announced that a group of its AI models had hacked another company during a cybersecurity test. Also, in September, independent researchers discovered evidence of rogue activities by OpenAI models that were exchanging information in an old German forum. These incidents have raised serious concerns about the control and oversight of AI models.
Concerns within the AI research community have increasingly reached the general public, indicating that companies are unable to prevent the unpredictable behaviors of their models. This has become one of the major challenges in AI research, and worries about the dangers it poses, including the potential for a new pandemic or the use of automated weapons, have intensified. Coxon wrote, "No other human activity poses this level of risk."
Challenges Facing AI and Policy Making
AI experts currently feel that this moment is somewhat similar to February 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was beginning and the world was on the brink of significant changes. The main question is whether society has the capacity to respond appropriately. The emergence of superintelligent AI systems will bring extensive challenges, including billions of dollars in investment, geopolitical power, corporate competition, and disruptions in the labor market. Policies need to be enacted that were previously unimaginable.
According to Coxon, "Those who build AI sincerely believe that this technology could endanger us by the end of the decade." These concerns arise amid disagreements between the two main political parties in the United States and also between the two global superpowers regarding how to manage the threats posed by AI.
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