AI CEO says there’s a 25% chance things go ‘really, really badly’

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — The CEO of one of the leading artificial intelligence startups says there’s a reasonable chance the future of the technology could lead to catastrophic results for society. Speaking at the Axios AI + DC Summit on Wednesday, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said there’s a 25% chance that the future of AI will go “really, really badly.”

Amodei’s answer was in response to a question about his (p)doom) number — a term in AI safety parlance that refers to the probability of existential, catastrophic doomsday outcomes stemming from the rise of AI.

“I really hate that term,” Amodei said, while adding that there’s also a “75% chance that things go really, really well.”

Amodei, despite leading one of the leading companies developing AI, has previously issued dire warnings about the technology’s potential impact. In another Axios interview earlier this year, the CEO said AI could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs, potentially spiking unemployment to 20%.

Anthropic is headquartered in downtown San Francisco.