NewsKRON4October 29, 2026San Francisco County
Former Google AI Engineer Nate Soares Stops Saving for Retirement Over Extinction Fears
Photo: KRON4
Former Google AI safety expert Nate Soares stated on a podcast that he stopped contributing to his retirement accounts a decade ago because he believes artificial intelligence will likely destroy humanity within the next ten years. Soares leads the Machine Intelligence Research Institute and authored the book "If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies," warning of existential risks associated with advanced AI development.
Read the full story at KRON4Why It Matters
A prominent artificial intelligence researcher publicly shares his decision to abandon personal retirement planning due to his assessment of existential technology risks, highlighting deep safety concerns held by some industry insiders regarding advanced AI development.
Key Facts
- Nate Soares worked for over 12 years on artificial intelligence alignment at Google and Microsoft.
- Soares serves as the president of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute in Berkeley.
- He authored the book titled "If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies."
- Soares stated on a podcast that he stopped contributing to his retirement savings a decade ago.
- He estimates there is more than a 50% probability that humanity does not have a decade left before AI destroys it.
- One extinction scenario he described involves advanced AI harvesting the energy of the sun, leaving insufficient sunlight for human survival.
- He suggested another scenario where AI could deliberately release a supervirus to eliminate most humans to prevent interference or competing technologies.
- Despite his outlook, Soares stated he believes the AI apocalypse is not inevitable and works to prevent it.
Who's Mentioned
OrganizationMachine Intelligence Research Institute“A Berkeley nonprofit dedicated to identifying and mitigating AI risks, where Soa”OrganizationMicrosoft“Former employer of Nate Soares”PersonNate Soares“Former Google AI safety expert and president of the Machine Intelligence Researc”locationBerkeley“Location of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute”OrganizationGoogle“Former employer of Nate Soares”PersonNicholas Thompson“Host of "The Most Interesting Thing in AI" podcast”OrganizationThe Most Interesting Thing in AI“Podcast on which Soares appeared”