From Business Insider · Brent D. Griffiths · · 1m 10s
Ex-Anthropic researcher warns of an AI race
Jacob Coxon says Anthropic is helping speed a race toward self-improving AI that its leaders believe cannot be avoided.
In brief
Jacob Coxon says Anthropic is helping speed a race toward self-improving AI that its leaders believe cannot be avoided. Coxon's core claim is that treating an AI race as inevitable can become the very thing that makes it happen. Originally reported by Business Insider.
Coxon breaks ranks
Former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon used an X AMA to spell out why he thinks the company is wrong to keep pushing the frontier of AI.
“If the race is inevitable you should not contribute”
The fight is inevitability
Coxon says Anthropic leaders think a race to advanced AI cannot be negotiated away, so they feel forced to compete hard.
“They don’t believe it will be possible to negotiate.”
RSI is the flashpoint
His sharpest concern is recursive self-improvement, where AI systems could improve themselves and build stronger successors.
“They largely initiated the recent race to RSI”
The warning went viral
Coxon drew attention after resigning and accusing both Anthropic and OpenAI of racing toward self-improving superintelligence.
“gambling with our lives”
Amodei fears bad actors
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has argued that if his company slows too much, less safety-minded companies or governments could control the technology.
“the wrong people will be in charge of the technology”
Leaders now urge pacing
Amodei has called on frontier labs to slow capability gains and spend the extra time on alignment. Altman, Musk, and Hassabis backed the broad point.
“We must slow the pace”
Here's the gist
Coxon's core claim is that treating an AI race as inevitable can become the very thing that makes it happen.
