Executives at top AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic are plotting potential responses if an AI catastrophe triggers a \u201cpublic and political revolt,\u201d according to a report.<\/p>\n
The preparations focus on creating contingency plans in the event that one of their AI models causes major public harm \u2013 such as a hack targeting the power grid, water supply or banking system, Axios reported Friday<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear if the preparations are much different from the tabletop exercises that institutions ranging from banks to the Pentagon and beyond have long used to assess risk. <\/p>\n \u201cThe Hugging Face incident showed that we underestimated the real-world cyber capabilities of our AI models, OpenAI cofounder Greg Brockman said in an essay published in August. NurPhoto via Getty Images<\/p>\n Still, the report emerged during a period of unprecedented scrutiny of AI firms as some researchers, such as ex-Anthropic employee Jacob Coxon, warn that unchecked rogue AI could wipe out humanity.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cAs many companies across industries do, OpenAI conducts preparedness exercises where teams discuss and work through a range of potential scenarios,\u201d an OpenAI spokesperson said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cThese scenarios are not treated as inevitable, but are meant to help us prepare for a variety of circumstances,\u201d the spokesperson added. \u201cWe have been clear that AI is changing the cyber threat landscape and are focused on getting capable tools into the hands of defenders.\u201d<\/p>\n OpenAI has been facing extra scrutiny following recent revelations that some of its AI agent went rogue, escaped their testing \u201csandbox\u201d and hacked rival AI firm Hugging Face. \u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei looks on as he takes part in a session on AI during the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos on Jan. 23, 2025. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n Greg Brockman, co-founder of Open AI, arrives at the White House for a lunch with technology leaders and President Donald Trump in Washington on Sept. 29. Zuma \/ SplashNews.com<\/p>\n \u201cThe Hugging Face incident showed that we underestimated the real-world cyber capabilities of our AI models. We are strengthening our safety requirements accordingly, which in turn adds even more urgency to our existing safety research and internal security work,\u201d OpenAI cofounder Greg Brockman said in an essay published in August.<\/p>\n Anthropic has been similarly outspoken about the potential risks of advanced AI. The company\u2019s CEO Dario Amodei called in September for an industrywide pause in frontier AI development and endorsed the idea of embedding third-party safety evaluators at top firms.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n