Jacob Coxon, a 27‑year‑old researcher who recently left Anthropic, appeared on Fox News’ “Special Report” to discuss his growing concerns about artificial intelligence. Coxon, who previously worked on pre‑training research at OpenAI and Anthropic, said he believes there is more than a ten‑percent chance that AI could cause human extinction within the next ten years if development continues unchecked.
Regulation as the solution
Speaking with chief political anchor Bret Baier, Coxon emphasized that the problem is “eminently solvable” if the United States and the global community act quickly. He described the current pace of AI development as a “gambling with our lives” and argued that people are “begging for regulation” to avoid a race toward disaster.
“It’s not like we think this is some impossible thing,” Coxon said. “We just need to slow down and solve it correctly. The problem is not unsolvable.” He suggested that an international agreement could provide the oversight needed to keep AI development from becoming a “superweapon” in an arms race.
Industry perspective
Evan Hubinger, Anthropic’s alignment science lead, echoed Coxon’s concerns on the social platform X. Hubinger wrote, “Jacob is correct here — we really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans!” He estimated the risk at greater than ten percent within the next decade and noted that while the risk from current models is low, the emergence of superintelligence through recursive self‑improvement could happen much sooner than expected.
Both Coxon and Hubinger agreed that the immediate threat from existing AI systems is minimal, but warned that recursive self‑improvement—where AI systems make themselves smarter—could occur as early as next year, with some experts even suggesting a six‑month timeline.
Calls for international cooperation
Coxon stressed that AI development is already being used on the international stage as a “superweapon” and that an unchecked arms race would be “disastrous in a way that no other human activity has been in the past.” He urged the global community to cooperate on oversight mechanisms, arguing that the stakes are higher than any previous technology.
He also pointed to recent public statements from several technology leaders who have called for a slowdown agreement, insisting that these calls are not marketing stunts but serious appeals for regulation.
Potential benefits amid caution
Despite his warnings, Coxon acknowledged that AI also holds the promise of “tremendous discoveries” and could bring significant benefits if developed responsibly. He argued that careful moderation, rather than abandonment, is the path forward.
Fox News Digital reached out to Anthropic for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
