AI Researchers and CEOs Issue Apocalypse Warnings

An extraordinary wave of warnings about the dangers of artificial intelligence has swept through the United States in recent days, with technology researchers, major company executives, and public figures sounding alarms that the rapid development of advanced systems may be spiraling out of control.

The current storm intensified after Jacob Kokson, a 27-year-old researcher who previously worked at both Anthropic and OpenAI, resigned from his position and issued a stark warning: the people building AI systems genuinely believe the technology could kill humanity by the end of the decade. According to Kokson, companies are racing toward systems capable of self-improvement, while safety measures are not advancing at the same pace.

Shortly afterward, Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, joined the chorus of warnings and called for slowing the pace of advanced AI development. He cautioned that the rate of progress could outstrip humanity's ability to understand and control the systems, proposing external oversight and cooperation between companies and nations.

Photo: Shutterstock (Photo: By The White House, Public Domain)

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, also expressed support for the need to slow the pace of advancement, while Elon Musk joined the voices calling for caution. Meanwhile, new reports suggest additional figures in the industry are concerned about the possibility that autonomous systems could in the future perform complex operations without adequate human control.

Then politics entered the picture. According to reports in the United States, former President Barack Obama has urged Democrats to make AI policy a central issue, against the backdrop of the political battle ahead of midterm elections. At the same time, critics of the move argue that the timing of the warning wave raises questions about whether fear of "AI apocalypse" is also becoming a political tool.

From the other side, President Donald Trump and his administration officials emphasize the danger of the United States slowing down while facing China. The argument is that if American companies slow development while the Chinese continue the race, the United States could lose its technological and security advantage.