September 22, 2026
Fear of AI Reaches Labs: Stress at 4 Organizations
On September 22, Financial Times reported stress among researchers at AISI, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind. Several AISI employees were placed on stress leave and referred for counseling.
Four people familiar with the situation cited tight testing timelines for unreleased models, rapid releases, and growing AI capabilities.
Personal risk. Some researchers quit because of psychological strain or because they felt it was unsafe to release their work. Launch speed has become an operational concern for the labs themselves.
Financial Times relied on accounts from four people familiar with the situation.
