Former Ripple engineer Evan Hubinger warns AI could kill humanity, sparks crypto community reaction
AI risk claim from ex‑Ripple engineer
Evan Hubinger, who now leads Anthropic’s alignment stress‑testing team, posted a tweet on September 9, 2026 saying he believes there is more than a 10 % chance that super‑intelligent AI could kill all humans within the next decade.
Key points
- Hubinger’s tweet claims a >10 % risk of AI‑driven human extinction in ten years.
- He previously worked at Ripple, a long‑standing crypto company.
- Hubinger’s resume lists work on Interledger, cryptographic wallets, and the rippled server software.
- Ripple insiders commented on the AI risk and on AI safety rules.
- Current XRP price remains below its 2018 peak.
Hubinger's tweet
In his own words: “Jacob is correct here—we really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans! I personally think it is >10% within the next decade. I believe Anthropic is trying its best, but we do not yet have a plan to solve alignment for superintelligence and are not clearly on track to.”
Hubinger's work at Ripple
According to his resume and LinkedIn profile, Hubinger was a software engineer at Ripple while in school. He says he helped design Interledger, a trust‑less system for cross‑currency transactions, created a tool for cryptographically secure wallets used by financial institutions, and contributed to the build process for rippled, the server software that powers parts of the XRP Ledger.
Comments from Ripple insiders
Galaxy Research analyst Alex Thorn, who has connections to Ripple and the XRP community, responded to the tweet with a light‑hearted remark. Ripple’s former CTO David Schwartz warned that AI safety regulations could affect freedom of speech. Former Ripple vice president Emi Yoshikawa noted that AI extinction risk has become an everyday conversation topic in Silicon Valley.
XRP price note
The article mentions that XRP’s price today is still lower than its January 2018 high, but no specific price figure is given.
Confirmed facts
- Hubinger posted a tweet on September 9, 2026 stating a >10 % chance AI could kill all humans within a decade.
- He previously worked in Ripple’s software engineering department.
- Hubinger’s resume lists work on Interledger, cryptographic wallets, and rippled.
- Ripple insiders publicly commented on the AI risk.
Unclear details
- The actual probability of AI‑driven human extinction is not verified by any external source.
- Ripple’s current financing plans and the exact value of its corporate XRP holdings are mentioned only in general terms.
Why the AI claim matters for crypto
The comment connects AI safety concerns with the crypto community because Hubinger’s background at Ripple links the AI risk discussion to a major player in the digital‑asset space. If leading AI researchers voice high‑risk scenarios, it may attract attention from investors and regulators monitoring emerging technologies.
