DeepMind researcher resigns, calling near-term superintelligence work irresponsible

Robert O'Callahan, a technical expert at Google DeepMind in New Zealand, has left the company over what he describes as an excessively fast pace of AI change. He had worked on chip design tools that made AI cheaper and faster, a contribution he now says he cannot justify. O'Callahan considers superintelligent AI risks real but uncertain, argues that pursuing ASI soon is irresponsible, and warns about cognitive surrender, concentrated power, economic disruption, and other harms.

O'Callahan, based in New Zealand, was a technical specialist at Google DeepMind. He contributed to chip-design tools that lowered AI costs and increased speed, work he now says he cannot defend. He describes the field's pace as too rapid and argues that targeting superintelligence soon is irresponsible.

He cites possible harms including cognitive surrender, psychosis and loneliness linked to AI, power concentration, economic upheaval, cybersecurity threats, and weak accountability. He suspects drawbacks outweigh gains. He notes many DeepMind peers share worries but seldom speak openly, and he now seeks clearly human-benefiting work. He shared a book by Yudkowsky and Soares without endorsing its catastrophe claim.