Key facts
- A former Google DeepMind researcher, Bilal Chughtai, warned that AI has the potential to kill all humans.
- Chughtai believes society needs to pace AI development to manage emerging risks.
- Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei proposed a three-step plan to slow AI development, citing risks of misuse and rapid advancement.
- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and xAI founder Elon Musk supported Amodei's call for a slowdown.
- Investor Cathie Wood views the pledge to slow AI development positively.
- President Donald Trump dismissed the AI industry's call for regulation as a 'hoax'.
A former Google DeepMind researcher has become the latest voice to warn of existential risks posed by artificial intelligence, stating that time may be running out to avoid AI "killing all humans." Bilal Chughtai, who worked on AGI safety and alignment research, wrote on X that he "earnestly believe[s] that AI has the potential to kill us all, and that we might be running out of time to avoid this outcome."
Chughtai's warning follows similar sentiments expressed by Anthropic researchers Jacob Coxon and Evan Hubinger, with Hubinger estimating a greater than 10% chance that AI could cause human extinction within the next decade. Chughtai suggested that navigating AI safely is possible but requires coordination to avoid a "manic race between AI companies" and that development should be paced to a speed society can handle.
This call for a slowdown echoes a proposal by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who suggested a three-step plan to manage AI's rapid progression. Amodei's proposal received support from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and xAI founder Elon Musk. Amodei suggested that leading AI companies in democratic nations coordinate common safety standards and limits on unchecked progress, with governments potentially mediating these discussions. He also floated restricting advanced chip sales to countries like China. Altman confirmed that OpenAI would implement third-party evaluators to verify safety commitments.
Investor Cathie Wood expressed a positive view of the AI leaders' pledge, seeing it as a safeguard for the industry's future. However, President Donald Trump dismissed the warnings, calling the AI industry's call for regulation a "hoax."