Two AI researchers leave Anthropic and Google over safety concerns: ‘There are no adults in the room’
September 11, 2026

(NBC News) – After Jacob Coxon roiled the AI industry with his viral departure from Anthropic, two more researchers are speaking out about their concerns over AI safety.
Citing fears that AI systems may soon spiral out of human control and potentially kill all humans, two more researchers from Anthropic and Google DeepMind who recently left their coveted positions are sounding the alarm about risks from advanced AI systems.
Joe Benton, who used to lead a safety research team at Anthropic, and Josh Engels, who used to work on AI safety research at Google, told NBC News in their first interviews since they left that they see an urgent need to boost transparency about incidents at the cutting edge of AI given the rapid pace of AI development. (Read More)