Dario Amodei, the chief executive of AI startup Anthropic, has warned that humanity is entering a phase of artificial intelligence development that will 'test who we are as a species'. In a lengthy essay titled 'The adolescence of technology', he argued that the world needs to 'wake up' to the risks posed by powerful AI systems, which he described as 'potentially imminent'.
Amodei, whose company is reportedly worth $350bn (£255bn), wrote that humanity is about to be handed 'almost unimaginable power', and it is unclear whether social, political and technological systems possess the maturity to wield it. He defined 'powerful AI' as a model smarter than a Nobel prizewinner across fields such as biology, mathematics, engineering and writing, capable of autonomous action and potentially only one to two years away.
The tech entrepreneur cautioned that the economic prize from AI, including productivity gains from job elimination, could be so great that no one applies the brakes. He noted that if the exponential progress continues, it could be only a few years before AI surpasses humans in essentially everything. A quarter of Britons already fear losing their jobs to AI within the next five years, according to recent surveys.
Amodei also criticised some AI companies for 'disturbing negligence' regarding the sexualisation of children in current models, alluding to recent controversies over deepfakes created by Elon Musk's Grok AI. He expressed doubt that such companies would address future autonomy risks. Despite the warnings, Amodei stated he is optimistic, believing that if humanity acts decisively and carefully, the risks can be overcome, leading to a 'hugely better world'.
