A 27-year-old AI researcher shot to fame after speaking out against AI's threat to humanity. Was it a smart career move?

A stock image of a software engineer at work; it does not depict Jacob Coxon.

Deagreez/Getty Images Quitting Anthropic may have made Jacob Coxon one of AI's hottest free agents.

A viral warning can turn a little-known researcher into a public name.

His options: joining another lab, building a career in AI safety, or founding something of his own.

Didn’t know who Jacob Coxon was a couple of weeks ago? You're not alone.

As of last week, the 27-year-old former Anthropic and OpenAI researcher has become the poster child for AI panic.

In an X post on Tuesday, Coxon announced his resignation from Anthropic, saying that neither AI lab was "acting responsibly" and both were "gambling with our lives." In an interview with The Daily published on Monday, Coxon said he initially wanted to resign without making a statement.

"I'd never posted online before, on Twitter, on public social media," Coxon said.

"So this was kind of my first ever post.

But I was like, I guess I should say something." The post went viral, drawing more than 171 million views on X and catapulting Coxon from relative obscurity into the role of AI's latest doomsayer.

It also has the makings of a smart career move. 'He'll have no shortage of offers' Lawrence Rosenberg, a London-based communications specialist who focuses on AI leaders, said Coxon’s sudden prominence could make him a highly sought-after hire.

“He’s likely given up a six-figure job, but he’ll have no shortage of offers because he now offers something more than just an AI researcher,” Rosenberg told Business Insider.

“Jacob Coxon has a personal brand built around moral conscientiousness.” Rosenberg said Coxon has quickly established himself as a relatable messenger with a ground-level perspective .

He's seen as "a real human who's curbing his personal ambition for the good of you and me," Rosenberg said.