Rising AI-nxiety

A former Anthropic and OpenAI researcher resigned… then sounded the AI alarm bells.

In a viral post Tuesday, Jacob Coxon said the premier AI labs are “gambling with our lives” as they race toward ever-smarter systems. Coxon wants a “temporary ban” on making models smarter, saying Anthropic understands the dangers but is racing “to get there first,” because rivals wouldn’t “act responsibly” (see all seven posts). Anthropic’s alignment science lead echoed Coxon’s concerns, putting his personal odds above 10% that AI “could kill all humans” within the next decade. 

It’s the threat of “recursive self-improvement” (RSI) that has industry leaders sweating. With RSI, AI could improve itself faster than humans can track, making sci-fi scenarios like hacking critical infrastructure or building deadly bioweapons more plausible.

Others questioned if the motive behind the post was more of a “well-funded PR operation.”

PRAY WITH US
All-Powerful God, from Your mind comes all that we can see and know. From the abundance You’ve given us, we have created a mind of silicon: all-knowing, always available, hyper-speedy, and never needy.

Turn our creation into redemption. For engineers writing code, may they desire peace over profits. For executives setting vision and direction, may they work for shalom over market shares. For lawmakers setting policies, may they champion long-term dignity over short-term domination. And for all of us tempted to bow to and trust and deify what we’ve built, turn our eyes to Christ, in whom all things hold together. Amen.