Stanford economist Chad Jones, whose research assigns a one-in-three probability to human extinction from superintelligent AI systems, has joined Anthropic to study the existential and economic impacts of the technology from the inside.
Jones, the STANCO 25 Professor of Economics at Stanford Graduate School of Business, is taking a leave of absence to join the newly established Anthropic Institute starting June 30, 2026. His mandate is to analyze what AI means for the future of the economy and human survival.
His recent NBER working paper, "A.I. and Our Economic Future," models a stark trade-off. The framework produces a 33% chance of human extinction but a 66% probability that living standards could increase 55-fold. The paper argues that faster AI research, while promising, mechanically increases the probability of catastrophic misuse.
The Anthropic Institute, launched in March 2026 and led by co-founder Jack Clark, investigates the systemic effects of AI on society, the economy, and governance. Jones is not the first economist at the firm; the company has previously hired economists like Anton Korinek.
Jones's stature could influence policy discussions in Washington and Brussels. His formal models quantifying extinction risk alongside economic upside provide policymakers with a structured framework for technology debates.