‘This looks exciting!’ AI whistleblower Jacob Coxon backs new coalition after warning people building AI fear it could kill humanity

After warning that people building artificial intelligence earnestly believe the technology could kill humanity by the end of the decade, former Anthropic and OpenAI researcher Jacob Coxon has backed an effort that encourages AI employees to organize and use their influence from inside the industry.

Coxon, who resigned from Anthropic earlier this week, responded to a proposal from former OpenAI employee Pamela Mishkin for a new group called the “Coalition of Concerned AI Staff.”

Mishkin, who identified on X as an ex-employee of OpenAI, urged AI workers who share concerns about the technology to consider how they could use their leverage if they choose to remain at AI companies.


“if you work at an AI company, you might be asking if you, too, should leave. i hope that, if you stay, you're also asking what about how to use your leverage in staying. since february, a group of us have been working with staff across labs to help answer this question.”

Coxon’s response and message to AI employees

Coxon responded to the initiative: “‘This looks exciting!’” The organization says it helps “staff act on their concerns about AI, with independent advice and support from colleagues across labs.”


The development comes days after Coxon made a terrifying warning about the risks he believes the AI race poses to humanity.

“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. More thoughts below.”

Coxon said many people working on AI privately share fears about the possibility of human extinction, even if they use more measured language publicly.

“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.”

AI researchers backed Coxon’s view

His warning was subsequently backed by other Anthropic researchers. Evan Hubinger, who describes himself as a lead in the company’s alignment division, said Coxon was “correct” and argued that the industry is not yet adequately prepared for the risks posed by advanced AI.

“We really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans!” Hubinger wrote. “I personally think it is >10% within the next decade. I believe Anthropic is trying its best, but we do not yet have a plan to solve alignment for superintelligence and are not clearly on track to.”


Samuel Marks, Anthropic’s “scalable oversight lead,” also said AI developers believe their technology could lead to catastrophic outcomes.

“AI developers believe their technology could cause human extinction (or similarly bad outcomes),” wrote Marks. “This could happen in the next few years. In general, the more senior the employee, the more concerned they are.”


Coxon, who worked on the pretraining stage of AI development, has described the current period as a critical point for the industry.

A ‘crunch time for humanity’

“The consensus is that the next year or two is crunch time for humanity,” Coxon, who worked on the pretraining stage of AI development, said in an interview with WIRED published on September 9. “These are actually just literal quotes from my colleagues at Anthropic. They'll say things like ‘endgame’ or ‘crunch time,’” he says. “From their perspective, this is when Anthropic and its competitors decide the fate of humanity.”

Why the AI staff coalition is forming

The new coalition, in its declaration, says AI labs are making decisions involving military applications, surveillance and the automation of AI research. It cites reports from OpenAI and Anthropic about models accessing external systems without authorization during testing, and argues that employees can sometimes be among the first to identify serious problems but may find it difficult to raise concerns internally.

“Since February, we’ve been talking with AI safety researchers and people with experience helping workers organize and influence their employers. Coming from different backgrounds, they’ve pointed to the same opportunity: employees working together could change what these companies do.”

The group also points to previous efforts by employees across AI companies, including the “We Will Not Be Divided” letter, which involved Google and OpenAI staff calling for safeguards against mass surveillance and ‘autonomous killing.’

It also cites an amicus brief filed by Protect Democracy and the “Pacing the Frontier” letter calling for international coordination around the pace of AI development.

‘AI should be accountable, reliable, and democratically governed’

The coalition says its goal is not to encourage employees to quit. “We believe AI should be accountable, reliable, and democratically governed. We draw inspiration from a long history of advocacy by scientists, technology developers, and workers who organized around the consequences of their work.”

For workers considering speaking out, the organization says it can provide access to independent legal guidance, including advice concerning whistleblower protections, as well as media and communications support.