Could artificial intelligence become so powerful that it poses an existential threat to humanity, and is the technology industry moving too quickly to prevent that outcome?
Bilal Chughtai, a former research engineer at Google’s DeepMind, has become the latest AI researcher to publicly warn that the technology could “kill us all”, arguing that time may be running short to address the risks.
“I recently resigned from Google DeepMind, where I worked on AGI safety and alignment research,” Chughtai wrote on X. “I earnestly believe that AI has the potential to kill us all, and that we might be running out of time to avoid this outcome.”
Chughtai worked on artificial general intelligence, or AGI, safety and alignment research at DeepMind and co-authored research papers during his time at the company. He left Google DeepMind in July 2026, according to his LinkedIn profile.
His comments follow a series of increasingly public warnings from researchers and executives about the potential risks of increasingly capable AI systems.
Last week, Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon said he had resigned partly because the “people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade.”
Anthropic scientist Evan Hubinger subsequently said Coxon was correct and estimated that there was a greater than 10% chance AI could kill all humans within the next decade.
The warnings have intensified a debate over whether AI development is advancing faster than governments and companies can adequately assess and control its risks.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called over the weekend for a slowdown in the development of advanced AI. His position received unusual support from SpaceX and xAI CEO Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, while also fueling a broader debate over what critics describe as AI “doomerism.”
Chughtai said AI could be developed safely but argued that doing so would require greater coordination among companies.
“We need to pace AI development to a speed that society can handle, where emerging risks can be addressed before extreme harm is realised,” he added.
Chughtai also said navigating AI safely was possible but would require coordination “to avoid this manic race between AI companies.”
The debate comes as major technology companies race to develop increasingly powerful AI models and build the computing infrastructure needed to run them. Supporters of rapid development argue that more capable systems could bring major advances in science, productivity and economic growth, while critics warn that safeguards may not keep pace with the technology.
U.S. President Donald Trump has dismissed calls for greater regulation of the AI industry, describing the industry’s call for regulation as a “hoax” in a social media post.
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Faustine Ngila is the AI Editor at Impact Newswire, based in Nairobi, Kenya. He is an award-winning journalist specializing in artificial intelligence, blockchain, and emerging technologies.
He previously worked as a global technology reporter at Quartz in New York and Digital Frontier in London, where he covered innovation, startups, and the global digital economy.
With years of experience reporting on cutting-edge technologies, Faustine focuses on AI developments, industry trends, and the impact of technology on society.
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