From Business Insider · Steve Russolillo · · 1m 20s
The AI doomsday debate hits a boiling point
A researcher quit calling it a gamble with our lives, and the biggest names in AI agreed he had a point.
In brief
A researcher quit calling it a gamble with our lives, and the biggest names in AI agreed he had a point. For the first time, the people racing hardest on AI are saying out loud that the pace itself is the danger. Originally reported by Business Insider.
A researcher walks out
Jacob Coxon quit Anthropic last week with a warning that the companies building AI are betting everything on a race they might lose.
“gambling with our lives”
They believe it themselves
Coxon's sharpest point was not about outsiders panicking. It was that the builders themselves hold this fear privately.
“earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade”
Amodei changes his mind
In a Saturday essay, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said the breakneck pace has to change, and laid out a three-step plan for safety.
“become convinced”
Musk and Altman agree
Rare public alignment followed within hours. Musk backed the plan outright, and Altman said pace has been a main topic inside OpenAI.
“Dario is right”
The IPO gets pushed
Altman told Fortune that OpenAI may hold off on going public this year, tying a market decision directly to the safety mood.
“Right now would be an ill-advised moment to go public”
Quit or stay inside
Employees are split. Some think they can push for safeguards from within, others think staying only lends legitimacy to a race running out of control.
The takeaway
For the first time, the people racing hardest on AI are saying out loud that the pace itself is the danger.
