What happened in this Tech story?

Former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon's warning that AI could 'destroy humanity' was met with skepticism from Silicon Valley executives at Goldman Sachs' annual conference, with critics accusing Anthropic of fearmongering to boost its $965bn valuation ahead of a record-setting IPO.

What is a key fact in this story? (1)

**Jacob Coxon**, a 27-year-old former OpenAI researcher who resigned from Anthropic this week, publicly warned that people building AI are "gambling with our lives" and that superhuman systems "can hack anything."

What is a key fact in this story? (2)

**Anthropic** team lead Evan Hubinger posted on X: "We really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans! I personally think it is >10% within the next decade."

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Silicon Valley Pushes Back on Anthropic's AI Warnings — SkimNews

By BBC Business · Summarized & edited by Kapil Samant · 2026-09-13

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Jacob Coxon, a 27-year-old former OpenAI researcher who resigned from Anthropic this week, publicly warned that people building AI are "gambling with our lives" and that superhuman systems "can hack anything."
Anthropic team lead Evan Hubinger posted on X: "We really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans! I personally think it is >10% within the next decade."
Nvidia's Jensen Huang dismissed Coxon's comments as untrue before a crowd at Goldman Sachs' Palace Hotel conference, with Altimeter Capital's Brad Gerstner accusing Coxon of "ridiculous hyperbole."
Grindr CEO George Arison told the BBC the warnings reflect an "anti-civilisational worldview at Anthropic" and said he instructed some engineers to stop using Anthropic's technology, calling the company's public statements "irresponsible" for shareholders.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called in a Saturday essay for slowing AI development and global regulation, saying risks are "serious" — prompting softened responses from Gerstner and Hugging Face's Clement Delangue, with Gerstner calling it "an important step forward."
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told Fortune the company won't IPO this year, calling it an "ill-advised moment" given safety debates and suggesting 2027; Anthropic was most recently valued at $965bn while OpenAI was valued at $852bn.
Senator Bernie Sanders co-sponsored the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act this month for a temporary pause in advanced AI, while President Trump said he has no AI extinction concerns but worries about losing to China, with his administration favoring unfettered development.

Why it matters: The credibility gap between AI insiders warning of human extinction and Silicon Valley executives dismissing them as hype widens as Anthropic ($965bn) and OpenAI ($852bn) prepare for record IPOs. Any crackdown will likely come from Congress, not Trump, whose administration has already labeled Anthropic a 'supply chain risk' — a designation a federal judge has ruled illegal after the company refused military use of its models.