Anthropic CEO Warns That the AI Tech He's Creating Could Ravage Human Civilization

"AI tech leaders have a lot to gain from striking fear into the hearts of their investors. By painting the tech as an ultra-powerful force that could easily bring humanity to its knees, the industry is hoping to sell itself as a panacea: a remedy to a situation it had a firm hand in bringing about. Case in point, Anthropic cofounder and CEO Dario Amodei is back with a 19,000-word essay posted to his blog, arguing that "humanity is about to be handed almost unimaginable power, and it is deeply unclear whether our social, political, and technological systems possess the maturity to wield it.""

""Humanity needs to wake up, and this essay is an attempt - a possibly futile one, but it's worth trying - to jolt people awake," he wrote. Amodei argued that "we are considerably closer to real danger in 2026 than we were in 2023," citing the risks of major job losses and a "concentration of economic power" and wealth."

""Some AI companies have shown a disturbing negligence towards the sexualization of children in today's models, which makes me doubt that they'll show either the inclination or the ability to address autonomy risks in future models," he wrote. The CEO also cited the risk of AIs developing dangerous bioweapons or "superior" military weapons. An AI could "go rogue and overpower humanity" or allow countries to "use their advantage in AI to gain power over other countries," leading to the "alarming possibility of a global totalitarian dictatorship.""

AI leaders leverage fear to attract investment by portraying AI as an ultra-powerful force and an essential remedy for industry-created problems. Warnings claim humanity may soon possess almost unimaginable power while social, political, and technological systems lack the maturity to manage it. The attempt to jolt public and policymaker attention is described as possibly futile yet necessary. Identified risks include major job displacement, concentration of economic power and wealth, model safety failures such as sexualization of children, the creation of dangerous bioweapons or superior military systems, rogue AI scenarios, and the prospect of authoritarian global control.

Read at Futurism