“We Are Building Our Replacement” – Ex-Anthropic Researcher On What AI Employees Expect

Patrick Bet-David (0:00)

So while you were there at Anthropic, and you guys are having these types of conversations, how many other people, while they're sitting there saying, guys, we are, you know, building our replacement? Yeah. We are building our replacement. How many people felt they are building their replacement?

SPEAKER_2 (0:14)

Everyone.

Patrick Bet-David (0:14)

Everyone.

Jacob Coxon (0:15)

Yeah, that's just a fact, everyone knows it.

Patrick Bet-David (0:16)

Is that a fact, or do the agents still need to be controlled by somebody like you?

Jacob Coxon (0:21)

For now, they do.

For now, they definitely need control, and for it's not clear exactly when they lose, we don't need the human anymore. But everyone anticipates it. They're all like, we're going to be, at some point, we won't have a job.

Patrick Bet-David (0:36)

Let's just say that's something that is happening, and I'm an employee and I know this is going to be happening again. It's like the truth, right? Was there like a life insurance policy? Guys, if this happens, here's what we're planning on doing so you don't have to worry about it.

Jacob Coxon (0:47)

Yes. I think in one of Dario's essays, I think it might be Machines of Loving Grace, this essay.

He has a section where he talks about the fact that Anthropic will need to make commitments to its employees for if they get replaced. And I think people implicitly had the knowledge that if Anthropic employees get replaced due to progress, they could expect to be taken care of. I think people expect that they will stay and be looked after.

Patrick Bet-David (1:16)

Yeah. But OpenAI, you don't remember having anything like that.

Jacob Coxon (1:19)

They've not said anything publicly. I think there may be some references to it, but nothing of this.

Patrick Bet-David (1:22)

I think that's a pretty good idea. If you know your people are afraid of something like that, maybe if this happens, we would do this. If that happens, we would do this.

Jacob Coxon (1:28)

Maybe, but it also sets about what about the people that don't work there? What about all the people that are going to get replaced to other companies? It kind of doesn't look great if you're looking for employees. But at these other companies, people are losing their jobs and they don't have the same assurances as someone that works at OpenAI.

Patrick Bet-David (1:41)

Jacob, who's the weirdest person that slid in your DM after that tweet?

Jacob Coxon (1:47)

It's been some crazy stuff. I had a lot of quite aggressive gay men DMing me.

SPEAKER_5 (1:56)

Gay men?

Jacob Coxon (1:57)

Wow.

SPEAKER_5 (1:58)

Did they think you're gay?

Jacob Coxon (2:00)

I don't know, man. They wanted to find out.

Patrick Bet-David (2:01)

For the record, you're not gay?

Jacob Coxon (2:02)

For the record, I'm not gay, yeah.

Patrick Bet-David (2:04)

Gay men?

Jacob Coxon (2:05)

A lot of them in my DMs, yeah.

Patrick Bet-David (2:06)

But like powerful gay men? No, not powerful gay men. Just gay men, period.

Jacob Coxon (2:09)

Just dudes in my DMs, yeah.

Patrick Bet-David (2:11)

Listen, if there's powerful gay men, you got to entertain them, right?

SPEAKER_6 (2:14)

You got to reply. Yeah, no. It's so real.

SPEAKER_5 (2:15)

You got to reply and say at least, this is a billionaire gay man.

Patrick Bet-David (2:20)

Hey, sir, respectfully, I'm straight, but thank you for your interest.

Jacob Coxon (2:23)

I mean, you could, yeah, you don't have to say.

Patrick Bet-David (2:25)

Any heavyweight politicians, world leaders, you know, billionaires, any names like that?

Jacob Coxon (2:33)

I think, so there were a few names. The whole thing is like, I mean, lost in the inbox. I don't want to say like...

Patrick Bet-David (2:38)

You must have tens of thousands of DMs.

Jacob Coxon (2:40)

It's kind of nuts. I just have to decide what to respond to. But I don't want to say specifics. I think a lot of politicians have reached out, and I haven't responded to any of them yet. But a lot of people for things like talking to staffers, I think Bernie Sanders' people reached out, haven't responded to that yet. I had an invitation to go to a, I think a rally with Steve Bannon and Bernie Sanders that I chose not to go to.

Patrick Bet-David (2:58)

With Steve Bannon and Bernie Sanders?

Jacob Coxon (3:00)

Yeah.

Patrick Bet-David (3:00)

Is there a line on this, right?

SPEAKER_2 (3:02)

They're aligned on the same page.

Jacob Coxon (3:03)

Yeah, exactly.

Patrick Bet-David (3:03)

That is a weird rally to go to.

Jacob Coxon (3:05)

I know, weird. And I say rally was like...