AI Doomsday Warnings Hit Congress as Tech Giants Demand Rules They Once Fought
Tech leaders warn AI could kill us all, but Washington can't agree on what to do about it.
A growing chorus of tech industry insiders is warning that artificial intelligence could pose an existential threat to humanity, even as they rake in billions from the technology. Now the fight over how to control it is moving to Washington.
Palantir CEO Alex Karp says the growing danger of artificial intelligence cannot be solved by technology companies alone. He argues that Washington must play a central role in setting the rules, warning that AI is developing faster than the systems meant to control it [245489].
The debate has intensified after a former OpenAI employee called for an immediate halt to AI development. Daniel Kokotajlo warns that a super-intelligent AI could become impossible to control and could lead to a third world war [243947]. Another researcher, Jacob Coxon, quit his job at Anthropic last week and issued a global warning: the level of autonomy AI is reaching could destroy humanity in less than five years [242224].
The owners of the four biggest AI companies did not deny his claim. Sam Altman of OpenAI, Dario Amodei of Anthropic, Demis Hassabis of Google DeepMind, and Elon Musk all came forward to say Coxon was right. They now argue that AI development must slow down and that common rules are needed [242224]. Amodei published a 3,800-word letter calling for slower development, laying out a three-step plan to control the technology [240369].
This is a surprising turn. The same business leaders who have always opposed regulation are now asking for limits on their own industry [242224]. Yet AI company stocks have not fallen. They have soared [243453].
President Donald Trump rejects these concerns. He calls the doomsday predictions a "hoax" and shows strong support for the AI industry [244085]. Trump says controlling AI development requires only one thing: a "strong and smart" president, calling calls to slow the technology down a "sick conspiracy" [241081].
Meanwhile, Congress is beginning to act. Congressman James Gallagher (R-CA) says legislation to put guardrails on artificial intelligence is "on the horizon" [243051]. U.S. Representative Chip Roy, a Republican from Texas, said Congress should hold hearings on AI, but he does not support new regulations for the technology [244252].
Some tech leaders disagree on who should handle safety. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says AI is not an "alien mind" but hardware and software. He believes each company that makes AI products should handle its own safety [242625].
Policymakers and tech leaders are also debating a proposed AI "kill switch"—a shutdown mechanism to stop runaway artificial intelligence. As fears about AI grow, many question whether such a switch can work. Some experts warn it may come too late [245438].
Elon Musk says his concerns about AI are not new. He points to his contribution to a 2014 book by philosopher Nick Bostrom called *Superintelligence*, which examined the risks of advanced AI [240884].
Even Geoffrey Hinton, the Nobel Prize-winning computer scientist, has raised alarms. His warnings stand in sharp contrast to ambitious government plans like South Korea's "AI for All" initiative, which aims to give every citizen free access to artificial intelligence [245076].
The warnings have not stopped investment. The technology could replace many jobs that support millions of families worldwide, and it remains unclear whether it will create enough new jobs for those displaced [243453].