AI scientist quits Anthropic over risk to humanity

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0:30and more options to their line-up, can shop at machinefinder.com. Booyah! This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Alex Ritson, and at 14 hours GMT on Wednesday 9th September, these are our main stories. In one of the starkest warnings yet about AI, a leading researcher at Anthropik says there is a greater than 10 % chance the technology could wipe out humanity. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham says Britain must stand against injustice after imposing sanctions over Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Our reporter investigates a spike in murders of women that's being called a femicide crisis in the central African state of Cameroon.

1:20Also in this podcast. I just wanted to prove that Afghan women can do different things. Afghan women are not powerless as we live in the darkest part of the history. An Afghan woman climbs Everest in a world first to inspire women and girls.

1:43There's a greater than 10 % chance AI could kill us all by the end of the decade. That's the stark warning from a manager at the artificial intelligence company Anthropic. Along with a colleague who has now resigned, they've said on social media they're worried that the technology could threaten humanity. Our technology reporter Chris Valance told me more about this development. This is a pretty extraordinary exchange that took place on social media platform X. I should preface this by saying that we need to remember that human beings have been pretty good at bringing threats to drive themselves out of existence without the help of artificial intelligence.

2:24But this was Evan Hubinger, the alignment science lead at Anthropic. Now, alignment science is essentially making sure that these AI models do what you expect them to do. And he was responding on X to a post by another researcher who US reports say had worked at OpenAI and Anthropic for a couple of years. And that researcher had posted, the people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade. And Evan, the Anthropic Alignment Science Lead, agrees that was right. And he said, we really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans, exclamation point. I personally think it's a greater than 10 % chance within the next decade.

3:15Now, we've had warnings before, but this is expressed in very blunt language. As you say, we've had warnings before, a lot of warnings, actually, from within the AI community. Are the rest of us maybe a bit naive about the dangers this technology poses? Well, I kind of think there are two things here we can say. Certainly when we look at the recent incidents where autonomous agents from these companies have gone on, are unasked for hacking sprees. That's generated a huge amount of alarm. Those were, in many cases, those were models that weren't widely available, that were, if you like, research models.

3:57So in a sense, people in these companies do have insight into the latest that the tech can do. And certainly some of the companies, particularly Anthropic, have withheld models because they're concerned about, you know, are we ready to deal with the risk that they might pose? But there's also, I think you can say that if you're in AI and you're really good at it, you are also perhaps a true believer in its capabilities. And therefore, it's easier for you to see the potential threats, perhaps, than somebody who might be a bit more sceptical about it. So I think there are two things there. Is anyone listening here, and even if they are listening, maybe an authority, is there anything they can do about it?

4:40because this is a global technology. You can't shut down one company because the clever people that are making this technology will simply go elsewhere where it is allowed. Well, I think the last point is absolutely critical. I mean, there's a geopolitical dimension to this, isn't there? I mean, you know, weapons are terrible things, but if the other guy's got them, we want them too. And I think, you know, that was the logic of nuclear armament, and there's a certain amount of that similar sort of geopolitics here. You know, AI brings lots of useful things. and reining it in if the other side isn't going to do it.

5:13It's difficult for individual nations to do that without feeling they're putting themselves at risk. On the face of it, a multinational agreement is what's required, but there's a difficult logic to that. Chris Vallance. The British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has defended his government's decision to impose sanctions on goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The UK's announcement came after Israel opened up tenders for the construction of some 1 ,200 Jewish settlement homes, continuing its expansion into a strategically important area east of Jerusalem. It's been clear for some time that the possibility of a two-state solution for Palestinians and Israelis is receding rapidly.

5:56The plans have drawn widespread international condemnation. Eleven other countries echoed London's announcement that they will, or already have, imposed their own restrictions. Speaking at Prime Minister's question time in the British Parliament, Mr Burnham said the UK was providing leadership on a world stage by taking action in the face of injustice. In this difficult and dangerous world, Britain has to stand for something. Britain has to show leadership. Britain has to stand for fairness, against injustice. Where people are being bullied out of their homes, intimidated, we will always stand with the underdog and take what action we can to support them.

6:37That, Mr Speaker, is leadership on the world stage. Britain being true to what it's always been about. That is what the British people expect of us and that is what this government will do. Meanwhile, the Israeli authorities are taking further action against countries which have imposed sanctions. They're recommending that representatives from a number of charities, including Oxfam and Save the Children, are denied entry to Israel. Israel hasn't yet announced what steps it's taking against Canada and France, which joined Britain in declaring a ban on trade with Jewish West Bank settlements. So, what response has there been within Israel?

7:18I heard more from our correspondent in Jerusalem, Yoland Nell. Certainly the comments that I've seen coming out of the Israeli settlements themselves have been defiant, saying they don't care about this action, that Israel has given the authorization for these settlements to be there, and that is what the Israeli residents care about. But there is a segment of Israeli society that does acknowledge that what has happened under this Israeli government is really something quite unprecedented. 104 new settlements authorized in the West Bank and settler violence now at an all-time high, according to the UN.

7:58And that has led to this response. There is one Israeli commentator writing in the newspaper Yediot Ahronot this morning saying that Jerusalem had prepared for rain, but what arrived yesterday was a full-blown storm. That really referring to the fact that while Israel had prepared countermeasures to deal with what was expected, this announcement from the UK, it was actually a list of a dozen countries putting out a joint statement against settlements and trade with settlements, and Canada and France expected to take similar action to the UK very soon. A spokesman for the Israeli embassy in London blamed the announcement on UK internal politics.

8:40Has there been a reaction from the Israeli government? That is certainly something that you hear commonly from Israeli officials, that they know it's going into the political party conference season in the UK, and they attribute the timing somewhat to that and this new Labour government wanting to make its mark. You also hear very commonly from Israeli officials and members of the public their belief that the UK is being taken over by Muslims who they say are influencing policy, that the number of immigrants who have moved to the UK is really causing these policy changes, something that the Labour government would firmly deny.

9:18Ed Miliband, who has been speaking and making these announcements as the Foreign Secretary, of course, in the UK, is proudly labelling himself as a British Jew. But at the same time as all of that, you know, Gideon Saar, the Foreign Minister, has been calling this blatant interference in Israel's own election, which is due to happen in just over a month's time, six weeks' time. He's called this also a moral distortion. The Israeli media pointing out that it is unprecedented to have this closure of a consulate in Jerusalem, and the British one has been there since the 1830s and it's been told now by Israeli officials that within 30 days it must cease its operations and that the diplomats who are working there will have their accreditation rescinded.

10:04As you say, a harsh response, but no harsh response so far anyway from Israel's greatest ally, the United States. How surprising is that? I think it is surprising and it will cause real discomfort for many Israeli officials. There is a report by the Israeli journalist, Barack Ravid, in Axios and on Israel's Channel 12, saying that in that call between the British Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, and President Trump, where he spoke to him ahead of the British announcement, that it was made clear that there would be a British move to ban settlement goods, and that President Trump did not oppose that.

10:46Yoland Nell. And for a deep dive on the reasons why the British government decided to sanction West Bank settlements and the diplomatic fallout, search for our sister podcast, The Global Story. The recent killing of eight women in Cameroon over the course of a week has sparked outrage and renewed calls for specific legislation against gender-based violence. Official figures show that at least 250 women were killed between 2023 and the first four months of this year. Civil society organisations say the country is facing a crisis of femicide and that these figures may be even higher as some cases go unreported.

11:26Our reporter Paul Nga has been speaking with families of femicide victims as well as survivors of gender-based violence in the capital Yaoundé. And a warning, some details in this report are distressing.

11:43Panic and dismay following the discovery of a lifeless woman at a hotel in Yaoundé. 44-year-old Cressence was stabbed to death by a man, prompting widespread outcry against the wanton killing of women across the country. At her family residence, her father still grapples with the shock of her loss.

12:09I wanted Crescens to be here because, as she was the eldest in a family of nine children, I wanted her to be the guide of the family after me. More than four and a half years ago, they lost their mother, and Crescens was the one who had to replace her.

12:28Officials say at least 50 women were killed in the first four months of this year alone. Crescens was just one of at least eight others to be killed in a week in August. Some women are lucky to survive gender-based violence, but the trauma, stigma and pain are indelible, especially for those in abusive marriages. That's the case of Grace, who left her marriage of two decades after being physically abused by her husband. We've changed her name to protect her identity. Women who are victims of domestic violence in Cameroon are not protected. There is no real structure in place because when you complain, people ask you, why did he beat you?

13:10When you say he beat you while you were asleep, nobody believes you. You arrive and find women like yourself who are supposed to welcome you. But they are the very women who tell you, I'm sure it was your neighbor who advised you to file a complaint against your husband. Is she divorced? I put these concerns to the Minister of Women's Empowerment and the Family, Professor Marie-Therese Abena-Ondua. but she denied claims that the government was not doing enough to protect women and prevent gender-based violence. She said a bill to that effect is currently being reviewed at the Prime Minister's office.

13:43We have reached a consensus on the formulation of the different articles and what have you. And I don't think the Prime Minister's services have been sleeping on it. No, and my hope, and I don't think I'm wrong, is that that bill will probably reach the Parliament in the November session. But the said bill has already been in the works for several years now. And because the November session of Parliament is mostly dominated by debates on the budget, civil society activists are sceptical that anything concrete will emerge from there. In the meantime, families who've lost loved ones to the brutality of femicide will keep hoping for justice to take its course.

14:25Paul NGA. To Norway now, where funeral ceremonies for King Harald V have taken place.

14:47As thousands of people crowded the streets, the Norwegian royal family led the funeral procession, with members of the military joining in the march. King Harold died at the age of 89 after 35 years on the throne. His son, Harkon VIII, has succeeded him. Members of the British royal family, including the Prince of Wales and Princess Anne, attended the service alongside members of the Danish, Swedish and Dutch royal families. Our global affairs reporter Mimi Swaby has been following the ceremony. She told me more about the day's events. So after a procession carrying King Harold's coffin from the Royal Palace to Oslo Cathedral, there was a ceremony, a very moving ceremony for an hour it lasted.

15:30That started with a minute of silence which was held nationwide and then memorial speeches took place. Now some speeches were from the President of Parliament who said that King Harold wasn't afraid to meet people with his wellies on, referring to times where the symbol of unity went to victims of attacks or went to times or places where people needed him most. He was seen as a symbol of unity and stability during times of upheaval. He then went on to say that the king lived up to his slogan. That slogan is everything for Norway and that is something that has been repeated throughout the 13 days of mourning now since the late king passed away that he gave everything for his country.

16:10Even during times of ill health he refused to abdicate because he said he took the oath to be king for life. The ceremony concluded it was a very touching moment when the now widowed queen Sonia le arose down on his coffin wiping away tears. Immediate family members were very close to the coffin but the cathedral was full. It normally has a capacity of about 800 but it was extended to more than a thousand to mark this very special occasion. The first state funeral since 1991. So a very grand occasion filled with mourning and a lot of sorrow but also a celebration of a king who was incredibly popular among Norwegians.

16:49His coffin is now going to go to the Akershus Fortress where he will finally lay to rest. A private ceremony will be held for close family members and other close guests before later this afternoon we can expect the new king, his son King Håkon VIII, to address the public from the palace balcony. So a long day filled with ceremony and tradition and a lot of security as well. It's a massive event in Oslo. There has been some controversy around Norway's royal family in recent years. Will it be as popular without him? The late King King Harald was incredibly popular. So the new King, King Hawken, has big shoes to fill, essentially.

17:25The new King has some scandals among his intimate family. His wife, it was revealed earlier this year, had ties to the late sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, something she came out to apologise for, saying she wished she never met him. And his stepson, Marius Borg-Hweby, he's been convicted of two counts of rape alongside other sexual offence charges. He has been given temporary leave today to come to the funeral, but these are scandals which will be plaguing the royal family and something he'll have to bring public trust back with. Mimi Swaby. Still to come in this podcast. They repeated heat damage to the lining of the esophagus.

18:01Really hot liquids could possibly injure the cells of the lining, which might make the tissue more vulnerable and these processes could eventually lead to cancer. Scientists say drinking very hot tea or coffee could significantly increase the risk of eosophical cancer.

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18:46This is the Global News Podcast. Next, to the story of the first Afghan woman to climb Mount Everest. As a teenager in Afghanistan, Riva Ahmed survived a Taliban attack on her bus by pretending to be dead and dreamed of climbing Everest with her 20-year-old brother, who later killed himself. River now lives in Australia, from where she spoke to the BBC's Soda Bar Haydari about her inspiration behind reaching the top of the world's tallest mountain above sea level. I just wanted to prove that Afghan women can do different things. Afghan women are not powerless, as you live in the darkest part of the history.

19:27You come from Ghazni province. It's very mountainous. And I've read in interviews that you used to go up there with your brother. You had a mutual dream to climb Everest together. Obviously, it was very tough to go climb in Afghanistan or specifically in a village. No one wanted me to climb. And mountain was just for men and boys to go to do those kind of stuff. But I just had a very good relationship with my dad when I was very young. And I said, dad, just let me climb these rocks. And when my brother had grown up, we both used to go to the mountain and we used to climb. and we used to just laugh and we used to just shout on the mountain.

20:14You know, you can hear your reflection of your voice. And I was like, I want to climb Mount Everest. And I was like, OK, we will do that. I don't have my brother with me right now. And obviously I miss him all the time. And what has been the reaction from your family or have you had any messages from Afghan women? Dad was not happy at all. And he sent a message to me. He said, oh, people are going to the mall and they are being a doctor or an engineer. I don't know why you're going to Bukhapu. You're crazy. So when I climbed, the story got changed. My dad immediately sent messages to me, my mom, my family.

20:58And also I got so many messages from Afghan women that they inspired by my climbing. In 2014, you had your own experience with the Taliban. When the bus you were travelling on was attacked, many were killed. But you survived because you smudged period blood on your face and pretended to be dead. When I finished my year 12, I just wanted to go to study in Kabul. They stopped buses along the way and they just started fire and just began. And I had my period and I was like, I'm not going to die. I love life. What should I do? What should I do? And I took the blood and I put it on my face and I just let pretend that I'm dead.

21:43They came to me and they just looked and said, oh, this prostitute lady is dead and then leave the bus. What is your message to Afghan women? I want them to dream big. I want them to believe themselves. I know it's a very tough time, but they are stronger than they think. Everest climber, River Ahmed. The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has hailed Washington entering what he calls a new phase of cooperation with Colombia after meeting the country's new president in Bogota. President Abolado de la Asprea, Colombia's new right-wing leader, said that his government wanted to be an ally of the US in the fight against drug trafficking.

22:27Marco Rubio will also travel to Ecuador and Peru, countries which have also seen rightward political shifts in the past few years, as part of his tour of the region to countries friendly with the Trump administration. Anne Soy discussed his visit with Bogotá-based journalist Laura Lizarrazo, the Associate Director at Control Risk's Global Risk Analysis Practice, a global strategic intelligence and security firm. She began by explaining the significance of the trip. Secretary Rubio's visit to Colombia is part of a broader regional visit to other countries in the Andean region, which basically aims to advance three mutually reinforcing U.S.

23:13objectives. One, strengthening the fight against drug cartels. Two, consolidating and solidifying the U.S. influence in the hemisphere. And three, building a coalition of politically aligned governments in Latin America. This visit advances those three objectives simultaneously. Why is that important for the Trump administration? You know, these renewed alignments within the Western Hemisphere, within the Americas especially, improving those ties. Well, that makes part of a broader goal in US foreign policy under Trump's administration, which has been labeled as the Dunro Doctrine, meaning reasserting US dominance over the hemisphere as its natural region for exercising influence.

24:14And this is important for Trump as Colombia is a long-standing partner of the U.S., but the relationship was strained under Gustavo Petro's government over the past four years, and the visit of Secretary Rubio also aims to restore those ties that were under tension during the past administration. How are these developments in the relationship between Washington and Bogota being received in Colombia? The country is deeply divided around that and other issues as President Abelardo de las Priegas was elected by a very tight, very slim margin. So his mandate is relatively weak as he won by roughly 2050 votes.

25:08So half the country, around half the country, the public supports and welcomes a more assertive role of the U.S. regarding security operations, as Colombian military have lost significant capabilities in terms of communications, logistics and mobility over the past decade. Some people view U.S. support, a more assertive support, as a means to bridge that gap. But a significant part of the population strongly opposes a more active participation of the U.S. in security issues, given that that is viewed or framed as a violation of sovereignty. And that caused a strong opposition among the left and some social movements, particularly farmer and coca crop growers, who are likely to be targeted by this more heavy -handed militaristic approach.