Will AI destroy humanity? Pioneers who created the tech weigh in

As researchers warn that artificial intelligence could pose catastrophic risks, some of the pioneers who helped develop the technology are weighing in with additional warnings on the dangers of unfettered advances in capability.

A series of stark AI safety warnings has emerged over the past week, with researchers from major AI labs like Anthropic, OpenAI and Google DeepMind all sounding the alarm about potentially catastrophic risks from developing the technology.

AI bosses including Sam Altman, Dario Amodei, Demis Hassabis and Elon Musk have shown rare agreement in calling for a slowdown and regulatory oversight.

Meanwhile, concerns have also intensified debate in Washington. While some members of Congress from both the Democratic and Republican parties have advocated for bills to check the progress of AI, U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday raged against growing calls for AI regulation.

Here’s what the people who helped create AI think of the existential risks: 

“Scientists at frontier AI labs have unique insight into the most advanced models,” Bengio said on Sept. 9, in response to Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon announcing his resignation. Coxon had warned that AI could “kill us all by the end of the decade.”

Scientists often see “the associated risks months before models are released to the public,” he added. “Their perspective is vital for keeping society informed and should be taken very seriously.”

Days before the social media storm started, OpenAI’s chief scientists warned “no one is prepared for the consequences” of AI.

In a blog, published on Friday, Bengio said that today’s AI systems “already have the necessary hacking skills and the powers of persuasion to be turned against human interests in seriously harmful ways.”

Recent events, he added, have shown that AI can plan over days or weeks, and the risks would be “much worse if their ability to strategize over the long term continues to advance.”

“My concern with AI companies’ current attempts to mitigate misalignment is that these efforts may only hide it, by rewarding and selecting the AIs that cheat without getting caught,” Bengio said. “We should certainly continue research toward better monitoring of AIs’ actions, their chains of thought, and the activity inside their networks.”