Elon Musk publicly challenged a former Anthropic researcher who resigned and warned that artificial intelligence could pose an existential threat to humanity. Jacob Coxon, who claims to have spent three years working at both Anthropic and OpenAI, posted a series of messages on X expressing alarm over the rapid pace of AI development.
Musk responded directly on the platform, calling the posts “seems like a setup” and later suggesting they appeared to be part of a coordinated “psy op.” The exchange unfolded over several hours through public posts on X, with both men trading remarks.
In his initial posts, Coxon accused Anthropic and OpenAI of “racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives.” He stated that people working on AI development believe the technology could kill people by the end of the decade and insisted his warning was not a “marketing stunt.”
Coxon’s posts reportedly garnered over 120 million views within a day. Musk questioned the sudden reach, noting that he had never seen such attention on a new account with little prior activity. Reports also indicated that Coxon had spent only four months at Anthropic, leaving two months before his stock options would have vested.
Coxon fired back at Musk on X, writing, “I’m real, and these are my real beliefs. You could ask your xAI researchers about me if you hadn’t fired them.” Billionaire investor Bill Ackman also weighed in, reacting to a post suggesting Coxon’s warning could be the start of a “sophisticated and well-funded PR operation” aimed at pushing AI regulation.
The exchange comes amid growing scrutiny of safety practices at major AI labs. Anthropic recently stated it is prioritizing safety over speed whenever the two goals conflict, as both it and OpenAI prepare for high-profile public listings while competing to build increasingly powerful AI systems.