AI · SEMICONDUCTOR · FACT CHECK
SKD WIREPartly True
A recent report suggests that leading US AI developers OpenAI and Anthropic have warned that a major AI-driven disaster could occur within the next 6 to 12 months, prompting preparations for what they describe as the 'worst day' scenario. While the warning has circulated widely, key details — including Anthropic's participation in attack simulations — remain dependent on a single media report, and the companies are understood to deny that such an event is inevitable.
According to the report, OpenAI and Anthropic flagged the possibility of a large-scale AI-related catastrophe occurring within a window of roughly 6 to 12 months. The companies have reportedly been preparing for the aftermath of a major attack — a scenario framed as bracing for the 'worst day.'
The underlying reporting, published by Axios, remains behind a paywall with the full article unverified; only the opening of the piece has been accessible. The companies do not deny the existence of concerns about severe AI-related risks, but they reject the characterization that such a catastrophe is unavoidable.
Claims that Anthropic took part in simulations of a large-scale AI attack rest on a single media account. Attributing that participation as an established fact — as some headlines have done — overstates what the source material supports. The framing that both companies jointly declared an impending "AI catastrophe" should therefore be treated with caution: the companies deny inevitability, and the simulation claim is singly sourced.
For Korea's AI and semiconductor industry, the episode underscores how risk warnings from frontier AI labs can be amplified into more definitive claims as they move through the news cycle. The distinction between "preparing for a worst case" and "predicting a disaster" is significant for policy planning, including discussions of AI safety governance.
The claim that OpenAI and Anthropic have warned of a possible AI catastrophe within 6 to 12 months and are preparing for the 'worst day' is Partly True: the companies deny the event is inevitable, and Anthropic's reported participation in simulations depends on a single report, making the headline attribution an overstatement.
