An artificial intelligence researcher has a startling message for users of the technology, following his resignation from Anthropic.
In a gripping thread published on X, Jacob Coxon issued a warning to not “underestimate the power” of AI and superintelligence technology. He opens with an announcement about his resignation, then accuses Anthropic and OpenAI of not “acting responsibly.”
Look:
Do not underestimate the power of this technology. These will soon be superhuman systems that can hack anything, revolutionize any field overnight, and acquire real power and resources. We have all witnessed the progress in each of these domains, and progress is not slowing.
— Jacob Coxon (@hilbertspaess) September 9, 2026
“I resigned from Anthropic today. I spent the last three years doing pretraining research at both OpenAI and Anthropic. Neither company is acting responsibly. They are racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives,” Coxon writes. “Do not underestimate the power of this technology. These will soon be superhuman systems that can hack anything, revolutionize any field overnight, and acquire real power and resources. We have all witnessed the progress in each of these domains, and progress is not slowing.”
A common response is “if they truly believe this, why are they still building it?” At OpenAI, many have not deeply internalized the civilizational stakes. At Anthropic, the stakes are well-understood, but they are locked in a race to get there first – they believe no one else…
— Jacob Coxon (@hilbertspaess) September 9, 2026
“The people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade. This is not a marketing stunt. If anything, many executives and senior researchers will couch their phrasing in the press to sound sensible – but I hear the same people express fear privately. No other human activity poses this level of danger,” he cautions. A common response is ‘if they truly believe this, why are they still building it?’ At OpenAI, many have not deeply internalized the civilizational stakes. At Anthropic, the stakes are well-understood, but they are locked in a race to get there first – they believe no one else will act responsibly, so they must do it themselves, despite the risk.”
I am optimistic about the potential for coordination. Warning shots like the Hugging Face attack have made pacing agreements between U.S. labs more viable. I don’t feel like we’re on track to prevent a global race, which may require costly actions such as a temporary ban on…
— Jacob Coxon (@hilbertspaess) September 9, 2026
“Accepting this race and entering the ‘endgame’ is a hubristic gamble that should not be launched from a private company’s Slack. Attempting to speedrun alignment should require extraordinary confidence that there are no better trajectories available,” he continued. “I am optimistic about the potential for coordination. Warning shots like the Hugging Face attack have made pacing agreements between U.S. labs more viable. I don’t feel like we’re on track to prevent a global race, which may require costly actions such as a temporary ban on improving model capabilities.”
He concluded the thread with a question for other researchers who are taking part in the AI race for supremacy.
If you are a lab researcher, I urge you to consider what the next few years will actually feel like. Do you want to kick off a superintelligent RL run without a rigorous understanding of its mind? Should you put your head down because “it’s happening anyway” – or take this moment…
— Jacob Coxon (@hilbertspaess) September 9, 2026
“If you are a lab researcher, I urge you to consider what the next few years will actually feel like. Do you want to kick off a superintelligent RL run without a rigorous understanding of its mind? Should you put your head down because ‘it’s happening anyway’ – or take this moment to call for different conditions?” he asked.
X users reacted to the warning:
All AI has to do is turn the lights off and it will figure out we are screwed. Then hog all the energy for itself. Then we will pray for a giant solar flare to turn off AI. After which we will go back to worshipping the sun and history will repeat itself from the Stone Age.
— DHR (@dirtyhandsrepub) September 9, 2026
The central dilemma of the intelligence age:
Moving at maximum speed could have devastating consequences
Not moving at maximum speed could have devastating consequences
— Roberto Nickson (@rpnickson) September 9, 2026
If they don’t, China (and everyone else) will. Sorry to say that this is exactly the nuke situation all over again. Pandora’s Box has been opened and there’s no going back, only through.
— Abe Burnett (@AbeBurnett) September 9, 2026
Now imagine the robots they are building running off the self improving super intelligence.
Nightmare fuel.
— Nathan Hughes (@rallynate) September 9, 2026
Why not sabotage from inside. What’s the use of this warning when they aren’t gonna stop anyway 😭 pic.twitter.com/GQ9IU6Iq4j
— Archna (@archnarambles) September 9, 2026
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to write. Marlee also contributes to BizPac Review.
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