OpenAI recursive self-improvement researcher warns of 70% human extinction risk in 3 years
intellectronica · x · 2026-09-11
Polymarket relays that a researcher working on recursive self-improvement at OpenAI warns there is a 70% chance of "human extinction" within 3 years unless labs coordinate a slowdown.
Developer burkeholland pushed back hard, calling the idea nonsensical: AI is urgently needed to cure cancer, ALS, MS, Alzheimer's, dementia and Parkinson's, and "slowing down" would undermine efforts to alleviate human suffering.
The exchange captures the classic acceleration-vs-pause debate at the heart of AI safety discourse.
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