AI Extinction Warnings Spark Debate Over Motives and Regulation

A wave of warnings from artificial intelligence researchers and executives has intensified a global debate about the potential existential risks of advanced AI, with some estimating a greater than 10% chance of human extinction within a decade. The discussion was thrust into the mainstream after AI researcher Jacob Coxon quit his position at Anthropic and posted on X that the people building AI earnestly believe it could kill humanity by the end of the decade. His post quickly went viral, reaching over 150 million views. The warning was publicly reinforced by Evan Hubinger, Anthropic's head of alignment science, who stated he personally estimates the probability of AI causing human extinction at above 10% within the next ten years. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has since published an essay calling for an international slowdown in AI development to maintain control over increasingly capable systems. "We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models," Amodei wrote, warning that AI's ability to self-improve could outrun human understanding.