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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is pushing the Trump administration to deliver a classified briefing on AI dangers to every sitting senator, citing mounting warnings from inside the industry that the race toward artificial superintelligence poses existential risks.
The call comes after Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon resigned from the company, warning publicly that firms chasing superintelligent AI systems are “gambling with our lives.” Another Anthropic researcher, Evan Hubinger, backed up that sentiment with a sobering estimate: a greater than 10% probability that AI could cause human extinction within the next decade.
What triggered Schumer’s demand
Coxon’s resignation from Anthropic wasn’t a quiet departure. He framed his exit as a moral imperative, pointing to what he described as reckless development practices across the AI industry. Anthropic is one of the most prominent AI safety-focused companies in the world, founded by former OpenAI researchers who left specifically because they wanted to prioritize caution.
Hubinger’s estimate of extinction risk adds a layer of technical credibility to the alarm. He pointed to the absence of a clear alignment strategy, meaning the industry doesn’t have a reliable method for ensuring that self-improving AI systems will continue to act in humanity’s interest as they grow more powerful.
Schumer framed the situation in stark terms, saying “the American people deserve better from their government at such a consequential” juncture. His request specifically calls for a classified setting, suggesting that some of the intelligence around AI capabilities, particularly related to hacking and national security vulnerabilities, may be too sensitive for public discussion.
A bipartisan worry, a partisan split on solutions
Schumer isn’t alone in pressing for action. Senators Mark Kelly and Anna Paulina Luna have also called for increased congressional attention on AI risks in light of the Anthropic warnings. The White House, however, is pulling in a different direction. President Trump has consistently downplayed concerns about AI’s existential risks, instead framing the issue primarily through a geopolitical lens, with his administration’s position centering on maintaining US leadership over China in AI development.
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