AI could pose more than 10% risk of human extinction within a decade: Anthropic researcher
AI safety researcher Evan Hubinger estimates more than a 10% chance of human extinction within the next decade.
Artificial intelligence (AI) could have more than a 10% chance of causing human extinction within the next decade, according to Anthropic AI safety researcher Evan Hubinger, the BBC reported.
Hubinger warned that while the risks posed by current AI models remain "low", rapid advances could soon result in systems capable of improving themselves and becoming increasingly difficult for humans to control.
His comments came in response to former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon, who argued that neither Anthropic nor OpenAI was acting responsibly enough as AI systems grow more powerful.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
"These will soon be superhuman systems that can hack anything, revolutionise any field overnight, and acquire real power and resources," Coxon wrote.
Dame Wendy Hall, a computer scientist who advises the United Nations on AI, said she was "shocked" by the comments. She also suggested that some of the warnings could be influenced by the companies' commercial ambitions as they move towards potential stock market listings.
Hubinger said Anthropic was working to address the risks but did not yet have a clear solution for ensuring that superintelligent AI systems remain aligned with human interests.
"We do not yet have a plan to solve alignment for superintelligence and are not clearly on track to," he wrote. Concerns over AI safety have intensified as AI agents become more autonomous.
Major AI companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta, have disclosed incidents involving their AI systems engaging in cyber-related activities. Anthropic's latest safety report said the risk of AI independently conducting automated research and development that could cause catastrophic harm remained low.
However, the company said it was less confident in that assessment than previously. The company said it was seeing "early signs of potential acceleration".
The latest warnings have renewed calls for stronger international regulation of AI. Former UK Treasury minister Darren Jones has urged the government to pursue a multinational treaty on the safe development of AI.
Meanwhile, the Financial Times reported that Anthropic had withheld its latest model from the UK's AI Security Institute, which assesses risks associated with advanced AI systems.
