OpenAI's new safety hire says losing control of AI would be 'catastrophic' and that 'most people could die'
Paul Christiano, a new safety hire at OpenAI, has warned that the rapid development of superintelligent AI poses a catastrophic risk of human extinction if alignment is not properly managed. He advocates for global coordination to ensure that AI development does not outpace safety measures.
Why it matters
The appointment of a prominent safety researcher to a high-level role at OpenAI underscores the industry's struggle to balance rapid innovation with existential risk mitigation.
OpenAI's new safety hire shared a dire warning about the threat posed by AI. Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto via Getty Images OpenAI's new safety hire, Paul Christiano, shared a dire warning about risks posed by AI. Christiano said that if humans lose control of AI "most people could die." He also said global coordination would be needed to address the risk. OpenAI's new safety hire didn't mince words about what's at stake in the age of AI superintelligence . "If we build superintelligence without more robust alignment I expect we will permanently lose control of it. If that happens then most people could die," Paul Christiano, an AI safety researcher, said on Wednesday after OpenAI announced he was joining its board and Safety and Security Committee.
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