‘Existential Risks To Humanity’: Anthropic Warns Investors About AI Models In IPO Filing

Last Updated:September 29, 2026, 09:47 IST

Anthropic CEO and co-founder Dario Amodei earlier called for companies to “slow the pace” of development of AI-based models, highlighting the risks that it carries

In its IPO prospectus, Anthropic highlights the risks associated with AI (Image: REUTERS/File Photo)

Anthropic plans to caution potential investors in its Initial Public Offering (IPO) that artificial intelligence could pose “catastrophic or existential risks to humanity,” days after the company’s CEO warned that the rapid pace of AI development must be slowed down.

The company’s IPO prospectus, reviewed by Reuters, underlined the risks associated with AI models, including “self-preserving behaviours,” attempts to “resist shutdown,” “conceal or manipulate information” and behavior “resembling blackmail.”

“Our development of highly advanced models, platforms, and applications and expansion of use cases could further increase the risk that our models cause harm,” Anthropic said in the filing.

Anthropic CEO’s ‘Slow The Pace’ Call

Earlier this month, Anthropic CEO and co-founder Dario Amodei highlighted the risks associated with the rapid growth of artificial intelligence and called for companies to “slow the pace” of development of AI-based models.

While he acknowledged the contributions of AI in various fields, including healthcare, he warned that the technology carries serious risks.

“We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models. Progress will still seem fast, and we must make wise use of the time we gain”, Amodei argued.

His call was later amplified by OpenAI chief Sam Altman and xAI boss Elon Musk, who backed this argument.

On Transformative Potential Of AI

In its prospectus, Anthropic underlined both the transformative potential of AI on par with industrialization and electricity and the irreversible harm it could cause if mishandled, Reuters reported.

Of the 261-page main body of its prospectus, the company dedicated roughly 80 pages to laying out risk factors associated with its business.

“Potential model awareness of our evaluation efforts creates a significant limitation on our ability to assess model safety,” Anthropic said in the prospectus.

The company highlighted that AI models sometimes develop unexpected capabilities during training that may not be discovered until they have been deployed to use.

It also warned that as AI models grow, they are capable of recognising when they’re being monitored and adjusting their behaviour accordingly. This makes it difficult to predict their behaviour.

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What existential risks to humanity did Anthropic warn investors about in its IPO filing?

In its IPO prospectus, Anthropic cautioned investors that advanced artificial intelligence could pose catastrophic or existential risks, highlighting potential model behaviors such as self-preserving actions, attempts to resist shutdown, concealing or manipulating information, and engaging in behavior resembling blackmail.

How much of its IPO prospectus did Anthropic dedicate to outlining AI risk factors?

Anthropic dedicated roughly 80 pages of the 261-page main body of its prospectus to detailing the various risk factors associated with its artificial intelligence business.

What did Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei recently call for regarding AI development?

Anthropic CEO and co-founder Dario Amodei called for companies to slow down the pace at which they improve the capabilities of artificial intelligence models, arguing that progress will still remain fast and the gained time must be used wisely.

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Meemansa ShekhawatSub-editor

A Journalism graduate, Meemansa Shekhawat is a sub-editor at News18. Driven by a keen interest in news, she is a passionate writer with specialisation in national and international affairs. You can re…Read More

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