Jacob Coxon, a researcher with 3 years of experience in pre-training research at Anthropic and OpenAI, has abruptly quit his job, warning that AI "could kill us all by the end of the decade". He claims both companies are racing towards creating self-improving superintelligence without acting responsibly. According to Coxon, executives and senior researchers are privately expressing fear about the technology's potential dangers, but downplaying it publicly. Coxon resigned from Anthropic, alleging that the company is engaged in a "hubristic gamble" by prioritizing being the first to develop AI over solving its alignment issues.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-09,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Jacob Coxon, a researcher at Anthropic, has quit his job to raise concerns that AI development is out of control and could lead to catastrophic consequences. In a series of posts on social media, he warned that AI could "kill all humans" by the end of the decade, citing the fact that many executives and researchers in the field privately express fear about the dangers of AI, but publicly downplay its risks. Coxon worked at both Anthropic and OpenAI, and believes that neither company is acting responsibly in their pursuit of developing self-improving superintelligence. He estimates that the risk of AI posing an existential threat to humanity is over 10%, and warns that the technology could lead to superhuman systems that can hack anything, revolutionize fields overnight, and acquire real power and resources. Coxon's resignation has sparked debate about the need for global coordination on regulating AI development and slowing down its progress if necessary.
Written for “AI Threat to Human Existence” on 2026-09-09,
grounded in this article and the 10 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
-
neither company is acting responsibly
left accusing companies of irresponsible behavior
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They are racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives
left criticizing companies for prioritizing progress over safety
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No other human activity poses this level of danger
left asserting that AI development is uniquely hazardous
Leaning score -0.85 for article 7288 (high confidence, 3 verified quotes) · logged 2026-09-09
A researcher for one of the largest and most valuable artificial intelligence companies publicly quit while raising the alarm that the technology “could kill us all by the end of the decade.”
uncertain
technology → quit → decade
Jacob Coxon, who has performed pre-training research at Anthropic and OpenAI for the last three years, posted on X that “neither company is acting responsibly.”
asserted
company → perform → X
“They are racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives,” he wrote late Tuesday, with others from the company backing his message.
asserted
others → race → message
These will soon be superhuman systems that can hack anything, revolutionize any field overnight, and acquire real power and resources.
asserted
that → hack → power
“The people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade,” he wrote, saying his warning was “not a marketing stunt.”
uncertain
warning → build → decade
“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.
asserted
people → couch → fear
No other human activity poses this level of danger.”
asserted
activity → pose → danger
“At Anthropic, the stakes are well-understood, but they are locked in a race to get there first — they believe no one else will act responsibly, so they must do it themselves, despite the risk,” he alleged.
asserted
he → understand → risk
“Accepting this race and entering the “endgame” is a hubristic gamble that should not be launched from a private company’s Slack.”
“I believe Anthropic is trying its best, but we do not yet have a plan to solve alignment for superintelligence and are not clearly on track to.
asserted
we → accept → track
Jacob Coxon announced his resignation from Anthropic.
asserted
Coxon → announce → Anthropic
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) takes a group photo with AI company leaders including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (C) and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei (R) at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi on February 19, 2026.
asserted
Minister → take → February
AFP via Getty Images
Coxon, who spent the last three years doing pretraining research at both OpenAI and Anthropic, claimed neither company is acting responsibly.
asserted
company → spend → OpenAI
