Altimeter's Gerstner blasts researchers voicing AI extinction warnings
Altimeter Capital CEO Brad Gerstner criticized recent AI extinction warnings as hyperbolic scare tactics that ignore existing safety measures. His comments followed a public dispute sparked by a former Anthropic researcher who accused AI companies of prioritizing speed over human safety. While Gerstner argues the industry is taking unprecedented precautions, other experts warn that rapid advancements toward autonomous self-improving AI pose significant risks.
- ▪Brad Gerstner, CEO of Altimeter Capital, described recent AI extinction warnings as detached from reality and driven by political agendas.
- ▪Gerstner's firm invests in major AI companies including Anthropic, OpenAI, Glean, and Databricks.
- ▪Former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon resigned and publicly accused AI companies of gambling with lives in the race toward superintelligence.
- ▪Daniel Kokotajlo of the AI Futures Project expressed concern that AI models are evolving in a direction that could lead to dangerous autonomous self-improvement within a few years.
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| Canonical URL | https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/11/altimeters-gerstner-blasts-researchers-voicing-ai-extinction-warnings.html |
| Publication time | Fri, 11 Sep 2026 22:43:40 +0000 |
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Altimeter Capital CEO Brad Gerstner took aim at heightened warnings from AI researchers, describing this week's discourse surrounding the technology's ability to cause human extinction as detached from reality. "What I didn't like this week is these hyperbolic scare tactics, which I think are hiding behind a political agenda," Gerstner told CNBC's "Halftime Report" on Friday. "And we ignored all of the extraordinary steps already being taken unlike in the age of the internet, unlike with social media, to get ahead of these downsides." Gerstner's firm is an investor in both Anthropic and chief competitor OpenAI, as well as other notable artificial intelligence companies like enterprise search startup Glean and software and data analytics vendor Databricks.His comments came after a…
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