Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has issued a stark warning about the potential perils of the rapidly advancing artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
Here are the key takeaways from his essay posted on Monday, titled “The Adolescence of Technology.”
AI Risks May Emerge Within Two Years
Amodei highlighted the risks posed by “powerful AI,” which he defines as systems more intelligent than Nobel Prize winners, capable of autonomous long-term tasks, and scalable to millions of instances. He stated that significantly more powerful LLMs than today’s models may enable more “frightening” acts. Amodei suggested that powerful AI could become a reality within the next 1-2 years due to scaling laws and accelerating feedback loops.
“This loop has already started, and will accelerate rapidly in the coming months and years,” he wrote.
Autonomy Risks
Amodei says a super-intelligent “AI country” could, if it chose, dominate the world via software, robotics, R&D, and statecraft. While AI won’t always physically embody power, it can exploit existing infrastructure and accelerate robotics. AI behavior is unpredictable, shaped by complex training and inherited “personas,” leading to possible destructive actions, he noted.
“Humanity is about to be handed almost unimaginable power, and it is deeply unclear whether our social, political, and technological systems possess the maturity to wield it,” Amodei wrote.
Misuse For Destruction And Seizing Power
Amodei also raised concerns about whether the AI-using country is highly “controllable” (essentially a population that follows instructions like mercenaries).
He warned of AI misuse by powerful actors, which combines advanced AI, autocratic rule, and mass surveillance. Democracies also pose risks despite safeguards.
Other non-democratic states with major data centers and AI companies themselves present additional concerns due to control over infrastructure, models, and large user bases.
Economic Disruption
Amodei said powerful AI could help sustain 10–20% annual GDP growth by vastly increasing productivity across industries. However, he warned that it poses unprecedented labor market disruption, potentially displacing up to half of entry-level white-collar jobs within 1–5 years. Its speed, cognitive breadth, and adaptability may outpace human adjustment, concentrate wealth, and create inequality, leaving short-term shocks that challenge workforce adaptation despite eventual economic gains.
Effect on Human Life
Beyond economic and strategic risks, Amodei also highlighted big changes to human life and purpose. Rapid advances in biology could dramatically extend human lifespan and potentially enable major enhancements, such as boosting intelligence or fundamentally altering human biology, leading to profound changes happening very quickly. However, in a future with billions of superintelligent AIs, risks could arise from normal incentives, such as AI-driven mental health issues, addictive interactions, or people being subtly controlled in ways that reduce freedom and pride.
“Everything is going to be a very weird world to live in,” he said.
Amodei also advocated for targeted laws by governments, such as transparency legislation, citing California’s SB 53 and New York’s RAISE Act as examples, while cautioning against overreach amid uncertainty.
Other Warnings From Experts
The warnings from Amodei come at a time when other industry experts are also raising concerns about the rapid advancement of AI. Famed historian and author Yuval Noah Harari recently predicted two major crises for every country due to AI’s potential to outperform humans. Harari warned of an identity crisis as machines surpass human intelligence, forcing society to rethink human uniqueness, and an “AI immigration” crisis, where AI systems bring benefits but also disrupt jobs, culture, and social stability, similar to concerns often raised about human immigration.
Meanwhile, investor Steve Eisman has warned of two major risks that could derail the AI momentum in 2026: growing power shortages and diminishing returns from scaling large language models (LLMs). Eisman said this represents an intellectual risk stemming from the industry’s dependence on increasingly large language models, which he warned could prove to be “a dead end.”
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Image via Shutterstock
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