AI Firms Reportedly Draft Crisis Plans for Catastrophic Incidents

Major AI companies are reportedly running scenarios for handling the fallout from a catastrophic AI incident, according to Axios. OpenAI and Anthropic did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the reporting.

An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed to Axios that the company conducts preparedness exercises. The report did not detail what specific incidents the companies are planning for.

Many AI insiders believe a major AI-related incident could happen within the next 6 to 12 months, according to the report.

Background

The reported preparations follow a stretch of public debate about AI risk. Some AI researchers have been raising alarms this year that AI could lead to human extinction within the next decade, while executives at OpenAI and Anthropic had already been calling for the industry to slow the development of increasingly powerful AI models.

On September 29, President Donald Trump hosted executives from major tech companies at the White House, where they signed a voluntary agreement outlining limited AI safety standards. Just this week, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told Politico that “the world should accept some bad things happening.” Axios also reports that AI executives expect Democrats to push for tougher regulations if they gain more power following this year's midterm elections.