Safety & societyExecutives at Anthropic and OpenAI are gaming out 'the day after' a catastrophic AI event, Axios reports

Top executives at Anthropic, OpenAI and other AI companies are privately planning for a public and political revolt after a catastrophic AI event, Axios reported on October 9. The scenario they consider most likely is a cyberattack that shuts down financial services, internet access or even power and water.

Axios said the first significant real-world harm from unsafe AI would turn an already wary public further against the industry and leaders such as Dario Amodei and Sam Altman, as well as President Trump for his reluctance to regulate. Axios co-founder Jim VandeHei wrote on X that they assume such an event in 2027.