DeepMind's former PR staffer, Vishal Maini, claims the lab once banned public discussion of AI extinction risk, citing internal concerns about the topic's sensitivity. According to Maini, external communication about the possibility of human extinction was not permitted, by anyone, at any level of the organization.
Researchers were coached to dismiss those risks as alarmism, compare them to 'movies like Terminator,' and pivot to positive applications in healthcare or climate instead. Internally, the team knew the AI alignment problem was not solved and 'there were far too few people working on the problem.'
After months of pushing back, DeepMind loosened the rule. Positively framed safety content got the green light, including a blog post that wrapped extinction risk in friendly language. Maini says the gap between internal knowledge and public messaging is shrinking 'because the evidence is harder to dismiss now.'
"External communication about the possibility of human extinction was not permitted, by anyone, at any level of the organization," said Vishal Maini, former communications and policy team member. Maini added that the gap between internal knowledge and public messaging is shrinking because the evidence is harder to dismiss now.
The announcement follows a growing number of AI safety researchers speaking out publicly, warning about unsecured models that could enable dangerous actions or advanced systems that could slip beyond human control. Researchers at Deepmind itself are among those raising their voices.
DeepMind did not say whether it still restricts public discussion of AI extinction risk, and whether the internal stance has changed. The company has not commented on the matter directly.
Source: thedecoder
