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AI researcher quits, says AI could 'kill us all'

Jacob Coxon, a former researcher at Anthropic and OpenAI, made several astounding claims Tuesday night on X.

Published Sep 09, 2026  •  Last updated Sep 09, 2026  •  2 minute read

A humanoid robot waves a flag during a demonstration calling for the regulation of artificial intelligence development in Warsaw on September 7, 2026. Photo by . (Photo by Sergei GAPON / AFP via Getty Images)

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An AI researcher is warning the public about a sprint to the top and what it could possibly mean for humanity.

Jacob Coxon, a former researcher at Anthropic and OpenAI, made several astounding claims Tuesday night on X.

“Do not underestimate the power of this technology,” Coxon said. “These will soon be superhuman systems that can hack anything, revolutionize any field overnight, and acquire real power and resources. We have all witnessed the progress in each of these domains, and progress is not slowing.”

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Before he left Anthropic earlier this week, Coxon said he spent three years as a researcher at both OpenAI and Anthropic and claims neither company is “acting responsibly.”

“They are racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives,” Coxon said.

A slogan on the Anthropic website says that AI “will have a vast impact on the world. Anthropic is a public benefit corporation dedicated to securing its benefits and mitigating its risks.”

According to Coxon, his former employee doesn’t seem to think the company is mitigating anything.

“The people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade,” he said. “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.”

“Accepting this race and entering the “endgame” is a hubristic gamble that should not be launched from a private company’s Slack. Attempting to speedrun alignment should require extraordinary confidence that there are no better trajectories available.”

Coxon issued an open invitation to every human involved in the race for AI supremacy.

“If you are a lab researcher, I urge you to consider what the next few years will actually feel like,” Coxon said. “Do you want to kick off a superintelligent RL run without a rigorous understanding of its mind? Should you put your head down because it’s happening anyway, or take this moment to call for different conditions?”

And this isn’t a Hollywood film with a happy ending.

“I don’t feel like we’re on track to prevent a global race, which may require costly actions such as a temporary ban on improving model capabilities,” Coxon said.

ganderson@postmedia.com

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