Jacob Coxon, a researcher at Anthropic, has resigned citing concerns over the irresponsible development of artificial intelligence (AI) by companies. He claims that labs are "gambling with our lives" in their rush to develop self-improving superintelligence. Coxon, who previously worked at OpenAI and has expertise in training AI models, warns that such technology poses a significant threat to humanity, potentially capable of hacking or revolutionizing any field overnight. According to Coxon, many executives and researchers privately express fear about the consequences of developing such powerful AI systems.
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
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Leaning score -0.70 for article 7398 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-09-09
A researcher at Anthropic has tendered his resignation, warning that artificial intelligence (AI) labs “gambling with our lives” in the race to develop their systems.
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labs → tender → systems
Jacob Coxon’s departure was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, which said it was “one of the first examples of an Anthropic employee leaving over AI safety fears”.
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employee → report → fears
In a thread on the social media platform X, Coxon — a researcher who specialises in training new AI models by having them consume vast amounts of data — said: “I resigned from Anthropic today.
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I → specialise → Anthropic
I spent the last three years doing pre-training research at both OpenAI and Anthropic.
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I → spend → OpenAI
“Neither company is acting responsibly.
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company → act → ?
They are racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives,” he added.
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he → race → lives
These will soon be superhuman systems that can hack anything, revolutionise any field overnight, and acquire real power and resources,” he said.
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he → hack → power
“We have all witnessed the progress in each of these domains, and progress is not slowing,” he added.
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he → witness → domains
Coxon also warned of fears among AI researchers and executives about the potential consequences of the technology.
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Coxon → warn → technology
“The people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade.
uncertain
it → 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.
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people → couch → fear
No other human activity poses this level of danger,” he said.
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he → pose → danger
Coxon questioned why companies continued developing AI despite such concerns.
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companies → question → concerns
“A common response is ‘if they truly believe this, why are they still building it?’
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they → believe → it
At OpenAI, many have not deeply internalised the civilisational stakes,” he said.
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he → internalise → stakes
“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 added.
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he → understand → risk
Coxon urged AI researchers to reconsider the pace of development and the risks involved, saying: “If you are a lab researcher, I urge you to consider what the next few years will actually feel like.
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years → urge → what
“Do you want to kick off a superintelligent RL run without a rigorous understanding of its mind?
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you → want → mind
Should you put your head down because ‘it’s happening anyway’ — or take this moment to call for different conditions?” he asked.
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he → put → conditions
Speaking to the Journal, Coxon had voiced the same reasons for his departure, saying he did not want to participate in an industrywide rush to “build AI systems that can improve themselves, worried such systems could spiral out of control and destroy humanity”.
He also said that many of his industry colleagues now used phrases like “crunchtime” and “endgame” to describe the trajectory toward self-improving models.
uncertain
many → speak → models
The report said that he was also among more than 1,000 AI researchers who recently signed a statement urging global government coordination on a system to “slow AI development if a brake pedal is needed to control models capable of improving on their own”.
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pedal → say → own
