Why are AI bosses saying we must slow down? Truth behind 'bot wipeout' warnings

AI leaders are urging the industry to slow down—even as they acknowledge rapid progress. Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon resigned last week over fears AI companies are “gambling with our lives,” following warnings from Anthropic chief Dario Amodei to “pace the frontier.” AI scientist Evan Hubinger also cited a 10% or greater chance that advanced AI could cause human extinction within a decade. Even King Charles weighed in at an AI summit, saying the technology can both save and take life. ESET’s Jake Moore says concerns increasingly relate not to chatbots but “agentic” systems that act on users’ behalf. He argues the key is independent testing before widespread rollout.