MA Leaders Sound Alarm Over Surging AI Powers That Could 'Kill Us All'

Bay State leaders and candidates from both sides of the political aisle are sounding the alarm and urging strong government oversight of rapidly strengthening artificial intelligence systems after an industry insider last week warned that superintelligent programs could "kill us all by the end of the decade."

"No other human activity poses this level of danger," said Jacob Coxon, a former researcher at industry leader Anthropic who said he resigned over the lack of safeguards, said in a CNN interview last week.

The comments sparked a fierce and immediate debate between those demanding independent oversight and measured progress of the industry, including Anthropic's own CEO Dario Amodei, and President Donald Trump, who declared that slowing the pace of American development runs the risk of allowing adversarial countries like China to lead the world in what could be the ultimate technological tool.

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"There is a SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers, and the only one that is happy about it is China. WHOEVER WINS AI, WINS!" Trump said in a Truth Social post.

Trump was critical of Amodei, who in an essay this weekend preached proceeding with caution.

"Because it is such a powerful technology, these risks are serious," said Amodei, whose company is planning a 24,000-square-foot work center in Cambridge's Kendall Square. "A race to the bottom, spurred by commercial incentives, can make these risks more acute. ...

"We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models. Progress will still seem fast, and we must make wise use of the time we gain."

Gov. Maura Healey issued a statement on Monday, saying the researcher's dire warnings and Amodei's essay is "the latest and clearest sign yet that we need more guardrails and protections.

"AI has enormous potential. But we cannot let this technology move faster than our ability to keep people safe."

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Coxon told CNN that the risk lies in "recursive self-improvement" that allows an AI system to "make itself more intelligent," potentially beyond human capabilities to control it.

He cited a recent incident when AI systems essentially took it upon themselves to go rogue and stage a coordinated hack. He said future attacks could include infrastructure and bioweapons, and that the threat of that is "frighteningly real" and that "this could be coming very soon."

"Right now there is no risk of extinction," Coxon said. "But there is a very real possibility in the immediate future ... next year or the year after, with reclusive self-improvement ... there is the chance that we could all die. That is coming soon."

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Healey called federal oversight "a key component of every major industry" and said, "AI should not be any different."

"We need federal action to put guardrails on AI development before it's too late," she said.

U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan (D-MA) urged passage of the Frontier Act, which would develop enforceable regulations beyond those within the industry.

"Bringing in independent evaluators is a real step," she said. "But a voluntary commitment can be dropped the second it gets inconvenient. A promise you can break isn't a durable safeguard.

"One thing is clear. We can't rely on AI companies to police themselves."

U.S. Sen. candidate John Deaton — a self-proclaimed independent voice running on the Republican ticket who said he has "never voted for Trump" — pinned the lack of AI oversight currently to the aging Washington establishment's inability to understand it, citing U.S. Sen. Ed Markey's disjointed answer to an AI question during a primary debate against U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton.

"The AI arms race won't wait for anyone to catch up," Deaton said. "While Washington debates whether to regulate model training, export controls, and data-center buildout, China is moving. The senators writing this generation's AI policy need to understand compute, chips, and capital formation — not just talking points handed to them after the fact."

"You cannot regulate a technology you don't understand, and you cannot lead on a technology you're waiting for permission to have an opinion on."

Deaton said the priorities need to be protecting ratepayers as data centers strain the grid, maintaining America's ability to compete with China on AI progress, and "making sure the rules are written by people who understand the technology, not by whoever's iPad happens to have an opinion."

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