CalPERS board discusses AI risks amid high tech investments

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) board recently discussed the potential catastrophic risks of artificial intelligence during a meeting. While the $655 billion pension fund has benefited from high valuations in the tech sector, board members raised concerns regarding the long-term safety of the technology.

Board President Theresa Taylor highlighted the resignation of former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon, who warned that leading AI firms are “gambling with our lives” in the race toward superintelligence. Taylor suggested the board consider issuing a public statement calling for new guardrails or a moratorium on AI development, arguing that the survival of the workforce is essential to the fund’s existence.

Despite these discussions, the board did not issue a formal statement or alter its current AI investments. CalPERS Chief Investment Officer Stephen Gilmore noted that the future of AI presents a “very wide distribution of possible outcomes.”