The recent spike in warnings about artificial intelligence from industry leaders has triggered questions about whether their calls for “AI safety” reflect genuine fear for humanity or disguise an orchestrated push for more power.

In September, an Anthropic employee resigned, releasing a public statement condemning his employer and OpenAI, where he formerly worked, citing allegations that “the people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade.” That resignation seemingly sparked a renewed commitment from Anthropic, along with OpenAI, and a host of other tech leaders to enact “guardrails” ensuring AI safety.