Mr Coxon said he quit Anthropic after a gradual and “scary” realisation that his own intellectual contribution was being overtaken by AI.
A former artificial intelligence researcher at Anthropic has warned that some experts fear AI could trigger a catastrophe before the end of the decade.
Jacob Coxon told LBC's Andrew Marr that a near-term disaster - within the next three years - would most likely involve a biological weapon or a novel virus, rather than robots taking control of society.
He said: “Certainly some researchers believe it could happen before this decade is out.”
Mr Coxon said the risks would grow as AI became more embedded in the economy, with automated systems potentially controlling key infrastructure.
He warned: “A sufficiently smart intelligence will be intrinsically scary, irrespective of the precise scenario.”
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Asked whether an attack on banking systems or food supplies could prompt social disorder, he said: “I imagine, yeah.”
Mr Coxon said he quit Anthropic after a gradual and “scary” realisation that his own intellectual contribution was being overtaken by AI.
“There was no single moment,” he said.
“It was a gradual realisation that...
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