The threat of 'superhuman' AI has sparked hunger strikes outside the offices of Anthropic and DeepMind

In a dramatic protest against the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, two activists have initiated hunger strikes outside the offices of prominent AI companies, Anthropic and DeepMind. Their actions reflect growing concerns over the perceived existential threats posed by AI technologies to humanity's future. Guido Reichstadter, a 45-year-old activist, marked his seventh day of fasting on Sunday, determined to draw attention to his worries regarding AI's trajectory. He has called for Anthropic's leadership to cease what he describes as 'reckless actions' that he believes are detrimental to society. In a post on the online forum LessWrong, he stated, "I am urging Anthropic's management to take immediate action to address the harms caused by their technology." Despite warnings from notable figures in AI, including Geoffrey Hinton and Elon Musk, the pace of AI development appears to remain unabated. Companies are in a fierce race to create artificial general intelligence (AGI), a theoretical AI that could match human reasoning. Hinton recently expressed concerns on the "One Decision" podcast, suggesting that many industry leaders are downplaying the associated risks. Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, has also acknowledged the potential consequences of AI, particularly for white-collar jobs. At a developer conference in May, he predicted that AI could eliminate up to 50% of entry-level positions in that sector within the next five years. "As developers of this technology, we have a responsibility to be transparent about the implications of our work," he noted in a later interview with Axios. Reichstadter has directly appealed to Amodei to halt all frontier AI development. In an interview, he revealed that he delivered a letter to Amodei's office on the first day of his protest, urging him to take action against the competitive race in AI development. He plans to sustain himself on water, electrolytes, and vitamins while he waits for a response. He believes that it is possible to create beneficial AI systems without the associated risks of superhuman capabilities. Previously, in 2022, Reichstadter undertook a 15-day hunger strike to raise awareness about the climate crisis, demonstrating his commitment to activism. Joining him in protest is Michael Trazzi, a 29-year-old former AI safety researcher from France, who has been fasting outside DeepMind's London headquarters for three days. With a background in computer science and AI safety, Trazzi is advocating for public statements from AI executives to promote a coordinated effort to pause the development of advanced AI models. "If influential leaders agree to halt their projects, it could lead to a significant shift in AI development practices," he stated. Neither Anthropic nor DeepMind has responded to requests for comment regarding these protests.