Top computer science researcher Stuart Russell is sounding the alarm over the rapid development of artificial intelligence, warning that unchecked competition among tech companies could pose existential risks to humanity.
AI CEOs Risk Humanity In Global Tech Race
On Tuesday, Russell, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, told AFP that CEOs of major AI companies understand the dangers of super-intelligent systems but feel trapped by investor pressures, reported Barron’s.
"For governments to allow private entities to essentially play Russian roulette with every human being on earth is, in my view, a total dereliction of duty," he said at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi.
He warned that AI could replace millions of jobs, particularly in customer service and tech support, and be misused for surveillance or even criminal activity.
Highlighting the risks, Russell noted that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has publicly acknowledged that AI could threaten human survival.
Anthropic, another AI startup, recently cautioned that its chatbot models might be nudged toward "knowingly supporting—in small ways—efforts toward chemical weapon development and other heinous crimes."
Russell described AI as "human imitators" capable of performing cognitive tasks, saying, "When you're taking over all cognitive functions—the ability to answer a question, to make a decision, to make a plan… You are turning someone into less than a human being."
Google Leaders Highlight AI's Transformative Impact
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) CEO Sundar Pichai acknowledged concerns about an AI bubble but said the company's investments were strategic and justified by technological progress.
Speaking at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, he compared the AI revolution to an industrial revolution, "but 10 times faster and 10 times larger."
He highlighted its role across Google's businesses, including Search, YouTube, Cloud, Waymo and Isomorphic Labs.
Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis warned that artificial general intelligence could reshape the world faster than any previous technological shift if managed responsibly.
He compared AGI's potential to the discovery of fire and electricity and predicted it could have ten times the impact of the Industrial Revolution within a decade.
Hassabis noted 2026 as a pivotal year for AI, with AGI potentially arriving in the next five years, while Sergey Brin had previously estimated it would appear before 2030.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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