Are We Racing Toward AI Like We Raced Toward the Atomic Bomb?

Tech leaders are racing to develop self-learning superintelligent AI, drawing comparisons to the nuclear arms race. Experts warn this competition could pose an existential risk to humanity, with some estimating over a 10% chance AI could kill all humans within a decade. Former Anthropic engineer Jacob Coxon publicly resigned, accusing AI companies of "playing with our lives." Anthropic's Evan Hubinger echoed these fears, while a 2023 statement from experts at OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic called AI extinction risk a global priority alongside pandemics and nuclear war. Unlike nuclear weapons controlled by states, AI development is driven by profit-seeking companies, complicating regulation. Experts suggest economic pressures and government interventions, like the US blocking Anthropic's Claude Mythos, offer levers for control, though no single solution guarantees safety.