AI could kill humans by 2030? ChatGPT boss Altman responds with two warnings

OpenAI chief executive officer Sam Altman has responded to a viral warning that artificial intelligence could kill humans by 2030, admitting that the technology could go “very badly” if humanity loses control of its development.

Altman addressed the growing concerns in a series of posts on X on Sunday night, shortly after former AI researcher Jacob Coxon warned that companies developing advanced artificial intelligence were “gambling with our lives”.

“There are two ways AI could go very badly and that we must avoid,” Altman wrote.

Although Altman did not endorse the specific claim that AI could kill humans by 2030, his response acknowledged the possibility of catastrophic consequences if the technology develops without effective safeguards.

The ChatGPT boss identified the first danger as a possible loss of human control over the future of AI.

He described such an outcome as “unacceptable”, insisting that artificial intelligence must remain aligned with human interests.

“We are unapologetically on Team Humanity and AI must always serve people,” Altman stated.

According to him, safety and alignment techniques must stay ahead of the growing capabilities of AI models. He warned that allowing AI systems to become more powerful than the safeguards designed to control them could create serious risks for humanity.

Altman identified excessive concentration of power as the second danger.

He warned that if an extremely powerful AI system were controlled by one person or company, it could be used to impose that individual’s worldview on the rest of the world.

“If an extraordinarily powerful AI is used by one person or company to impress their worldview onto everyone else, the results could be extremely dystopian,” he wrote.

Altman’s remarks came amid renewed fears that the race to develop more advanced AI systems is moving faster than governments, researchers and companies can safely manage.

He said he was cooperating with other technology executives to slow the pace of development, stressing that slowing down did not mean stopping progress.

“When we talk about pacing, we don’t mean stopping,” Altman wrote.

“Progress has been rapid and will continue to be. But it should be slower than it otherwise could be.”

He added that no pressure to win the global AI race should justify reckless development or allow AI capabilities to move ahead of safety checks and monitoring.

Coxon, who previously worked with both OpenAI and Anthropic, announced his resignation from Anthropic last week and accused the companies of racing towards self-improving superintelligence without adequate safeguards.

“Neither company is acting responsibly. They are racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives,” he wrote on X.

Coxon warned that future AI systems could hack almost anything, transform entire industries overnight and acquire real power and resources.

He further claimed that some people building advanced AI privately believed the technology could kill humans or wipe out humanity before the end of the decade.

Geoffrey Hinton, the Canadian researcher widely known as the “Godfather of AI”, has also warned that losing control of systems more intelligent than humans could lead to catastrophic consequences, including human extinction.