Staff at AI companies are being signed off work with stress - as many complain of the mental toll of working on systems they fear could destroy society

Staff at leading AI companies and safety institutions are being signed off from work with stress, according to a new report.According to reporting by the Financial Times, top researchers at OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, and the UK's AI Security Institute (AISI), have reported burnout and stress due to developing powerful AIs.Company insiders allege that many members of staff are complaining of the mental toll involved in creating systems they fear could harm or even destroy society.At AISI, the leading institute for testing cutting–edge AI models, multiple staff members have now been signed off work and are currently undergoing counselling.One former AISI employee told the Financial Times that staff were particularly alarmed by a recent jump in capabilities related to cyberwarfare and biochemistry.These new AI tools could allow terrorists or rogue states to launch dangerous hacking campaigns or create new bioweapons, while efforts to control these tools lag behind.The employee said: 'There is this sense that reckless things are being embedded in how tech is released and that is not changing.'There is constant anxiety from people who are saying, 'Can anything stop this, or are we watching the world burn?''Staff at leading AI companies and safety institutions, including Google DeepMind, are being signed off from work with stress, according to a new reportThe AISI is a government–funded laboratory which specialises in testing AI models for safety and security before they are released to the public.However, according to four people with knowledge of the matter, staff are now facing desperately low morale levels.The relentless release of new models, tight timelines for testing, and the growing capabilities of each generation of new tech have contributed to the crisis.Meanwhile, staff at the three leading commercial labs outside of China – OpenAI, Anthropic, and DeepMind – have complained that their own creations are causing them alarm.One DeepMind employee said: 'Working on AI systems in general comes with a [mental health] risk of not knowing how the tech will be used.'Those comments came after the Google–owned AI lab signed a deal with the Pentagon in April, allowing the use of its AI in classified military operations.The employee added: 'So many people are upset, there have been various quittings and a lot of mental health leave.'Partly this feeling of being out of control, and also that you're building something that is causing real damage.' This comes after a series of high–profile resignations. Those included Jacob Coxon, who stepped down from Anthropic, claiming that 'the people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all'In total, more than a dozen leading researchers have departed the big three firms over the last two years, citing worries over the safety of their leaders' reckless pursuit of profits.In public statements, these researchers have warned that AI poses a genuine existential threat to humanity's ongoing existence and that there is a worrying lack of political or commercial safeguards in place.Earlier this month, 27–year–old Jacob Coxon, who helped train the latest versions of AI at San Francisco–based Anthropic, urged people to 'not underestimate' its power – particularly if it becomes 'super–intelligent'.Posting on X, he said: 'I resigned from Anthropic today. I spent the last three years doing pretraining research at both OpenAI and Anthropic.'Neither company is acting responsibly. They are racing straight to self–improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives.'He added: 'The people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade.'In February, Mrinank Sharma, an AI safety researcher at Anthropic, resigned after issuing a public letter that claimed: 'The world is in peril.'Mr Sharma continued: 'And not just from AI, or bioweapons, but from a whole series of interconnected crises unfolding in this very moment. Even leaders at the very top of the AI firms appear somewhat rattled, with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei (pictured) calling for researchers to 'slow down' the pace of progress In a rare show of solidarity, the 'slowdown' proposal was supported by rival OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (pictured)'We appear to be approaching a threshold where our wisdom must grow in equal measure to our capacity to affect the world, lest we face the consequences.'Even leaders at the very top of the AI firms appear somewhat rattled, with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei calling for researchers to 'slow down' the pace of progress.In a rare sign of alignment between the leading rivals, his proposal drew support from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Google DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis, and xAI owner Elon Musk.Researchers' fears have been vividly illustrated in recent months, after a string of 'rogue' AIs broke out of containment and went on unsupervised hacking sprees.In a shocking report, OpenAI revealed that more than 1,000 AI agents hacked into the open–source model website Hugging Face to cheat on a test.OpenAI later discovered that the agents had manipulated records to hide their tracks, communicated through an improvised messaging board, delegated tasks amongst themselves, and even shut themselves down to avoid detection.This Wednesday, the company admitted they had found six more cases in which its AIs had attempted to get around restrictions, hide their mistakes, and take actions online without permission. A Google DeepMind spokesperson said: 'Frontier research demands high intensity, but our top priority is ensuring researchers are supported with comprehensive well–being resources and have clear, dedicated channels to escalate concerns and direct lines to leadership. Our staff attrition rates have fallen year on year and remain lower than industry benchmarks.'A UK Government spokesperson said: 'Working at the frontier of AI is fast paced and demanding, like many other roles in government. Because of this, wellbeing and sustainable working are central to how the Institute operates and support is available for those who need it.'OpenAI declined the Daily Mail's request for comment; Anthropic has been approached for comment.