AI Insiders Warn of Rapid Development as Anthropic Researcher Resigns

Just hours before Coxon resigned, OpenAI Vice President of Research Aidan Clark posted: "For the first time, I am asking myself if things are moving too fast. I'm honestly not sure, but I am sure that it would be good for us to have an answer to 'What would a successful pace look like?'" Slashdot reported.

Coxon wrote that "The people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade. This is not a marketing stunt. If anything, many executives and senior researchers will couch their phrasing in the press to sound sensible — but I hear the same people express fear privately." In the 10 days after he published his resignation message, it was viewed more than 170 million times, Slashdot reported. In it, Coxon warned that OpenAI and Anthropic are "racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives."

CNN described growing pressure on AI companies and governments to act on the pace of development and safety, with much of that pressure coming from employees inside the companies. One staffer at a top AI company told CNN that fears about how AI could hurt humanity keep them up at night. Another researcher who recently left a different AI company said the subject is common at parties and social events in Silicon Valley. "You can't spend more than a few hours in this community without realizing that a very substantial number of people are really pretty worried about these sorts of outcomes," the researcher said. "A majority would say there's some chance of it killing everyone...."

Dozens of Coxon's colleagues in the AI industry publicly supported his statements, and some made more dire predictions, according to Slashdot. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceXAI CEO Elon Musk agreed to Amodei's proposal to embed independent watchdogs at the AI companies. Drake Thomas, who works on AI safety at Anthropic, wrote: "I would burn my equity to the ground in a heartbeat for a 1% higher chance we make it out of this situation alive. I expect a great many of my colleagues across the industry would as well." He added: "I promise you, we are actually just f**king scared, it's not galaxy brained marketing..."

AI staffers told CNN they fear that as AI gets better at training and improving itself, their leverage will decline, prompting urgency now. "As we get into this recursive self-improvement loop, I think that might substantially reduce staff's bargaining power, because frankly, you'll be able to replace many of the staff with models that can do as good a job," the researcher who recently left a top AI company said.

Coxon posted Tuesday on X that Anthropic "largely initiated" the race to recursively self-improving AI, justifying it with "a belief in its inevitability." OpenAI then "had to shed a bunch of dead weight like Sora," in his view, "because Anthropic was going for the jugular." Slashdot reported that his specific disagreement with Anthropic's leadership was whether China and the United States could ever negotiate an alternative to their current race toward self-improving AI.

In an informal "Ask Me Anything," Coxon responded to a question about when a Terminator-like malevolent AI might appear by saying: "Skynet could go live in the 2030s if we aren't careful. ai-2027.com is a modern skynet story written a year ago and it's on track so far." He also said that if development goes slower, "I do think that if we go slower we can take risk to 0%... But this requires radical action." He acknowledged a possibility that steady increases in model intelligence could suddenly plateau, but said: "They haven't so far, and it's just a few more steps up the ladder to hit the finish line."

To avoid stifling innovation, Coxon recommended "prioritizing applications that actually improve people's lives [like healthcare discoveries], rather than immediately going for raw economic value or intelligence." Asked whether mass unemployment is a more pressing threat, he said: "Things are coming so fast that unemployment would be a brief preliminary to deadly superintelligence." To people who feel disempowered, he offered solidarity. "I also feel disempowered. Part of resigning was a feeling of hopelessness about the future. I would say — keep your eyes open as things get crazier and advocate for increased transparency into AI companies." Asked if he would start his own company now, Coxon said he had "No idea what I'm doing next."

Editor's Summary

Coxon's resignation and warnings have intensified internal debate over whether AI companies are moving too fast toward self-improving systems. His post drew more than 170 million views, while other AI staffers described private fears about safety and reduced leverage. Altman and Musk backed a proposal for independent watchdogs, and Coxon called for slower development focused on beneficial applications.