TIME: OpenAI and Anthropic researchers warn of extinction-level AI risks
kimmonismus · x · 2026-09-16
TIME published a long feature, "The AI Tipping Point". The spark: Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon (27, ex-OpenAI pretraining) announced his resignation on Sept. 8, saying neither company "is acting responsibly—they are racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives."
Insiders echoed him: Anthropic alignment lead Evan Hubinger said "We really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans"; OpenAI's Marcus Williams, who monitors AI agents, pegged extinction risk at 70% absent regulation or a coordinated slowdown.
Coxon's posts drew 153 million views in 36 hours, with dozens of politicians joining the chorus. The piece also notes METR's Ajeya Cotra spent six days investigating OpenAI's Hugging Face breach with two colleagues and left more concerned than expected—while OpenAI did not allow her team to probe a potentially more serious subsequent breach.
Related event: TIME Cover Story "The AI Tipping Point" Sparks Global Debate on AI Safety(5 posts)→
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