An artificial intelligence researcher who quit AI firm Anthropic has said people working on the technology were “genuinely frightened” about the speed of its advancements and what it could mean for humanity.
Jacob Coxon told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on Saturday about his viral resignation post in which he raised concerns about out-of-control AI.
“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,” he said.
His resignation comes amid growing safety concerns in the industry, including from his former boss, Anthropic head Dario Amodei, who in an essay argued for development to slow down.
The bosses of two rival AI firms, Sam Altman of OpenAI and Elon Musk, have both said they agree with Amodei’s proposal for industry-wide deceleration and regulation, as well as independent monitoring of AI models as they are developed.
Amodei said developing the technology was not in question, but the risks associated with it were “serious”, and that companies and governments must be given time to address them.
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.
