Former Google DeepMind Engineer Bilal Chughtai Warns AI Could Cause Human Extinction Without Coordinated Safety Measures
Bilal Chughtai, a former engineer at Google DeepMind who specialized in the safety of advanced AI systems, has warned that artificial intelligence could lead to the extinction of humanity, with limited time remaining to prevent such an outcome.
Chughtai left Google DeepMind in July 2026. In a post on X, he stated that safe development of the technology is still achievable, but it requires AI laboratories to coordinate their actions and end the intense competition to build ever more powerful systems.
According to Chughtai, the speed of AI development must be adjusted to a level that society can manage effectively. Emerging threats need to be evaluated and addressed with protective measures before they escalate into catastrophic harm.
Chughtai is not the only expert to issue such warnings after departing a major AI company. Jacob Coxon, a researcher at Anthropic, indicated that creators of frontier models seriously consider the possibility of human extinction by the end of the current decade.
Evan Hubinger, also from Anthropic, assessed the probability of this scenario occurring within the next ten years at more than 10 percent.
Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, has called for reducing the pace of advanced model development when safety measures fail to keep up with capabilities. This position has received support from Elon Musk and Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI.
The proposal involves external audits, unified standards, and controlled development speed rather than a complete stop to research. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump has rejected calls for AI regulation, describing them as a hoax.
The situation highlights a rare industry consensus on the need for caution alongside political resistance to any slowdown, with Reuters noting that the cost of miscalculation far exceeds typical quarterly revenue concerns.
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