OpenAI and Anthropic executives privately simulate AI disaster scenarios, fearing that major incidents could trigger public backlash.

On October 9, according to Axios, senior executives at Anthropic, OpenAI, and other AI companies are privately simulating various scenarios to prepare for large-scale public backlash and political resistance that could follow a catastrophic AI event. These executives anticipate that a major incident may occur in the future, most likely in the form of a cyberattack causing disruptions to financial services, internet connectivity, and even power and water systems. Once unsafe AI causes significant real-world harm for the first time, the public, already skeptical of AI, may further turn against the technology and its leaders.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and US President Donald Trump, who has faced criticism for not pushing harder on AI regulation, could all become targets of public accountability. Multiple AI industry insiders believe that a major incident may be difficult to avoid. An OpenAI spokesperson stated: "OpenAI conducts emergency preparedness exercises where teams discuss and simulate a range of potential scenarios. These scenarios are not viewed as inevitable events, but rather as tools to help us respond to various possible outcomes."