# Civilization Cannot Afford to Assume AI Risk Is Absent by David Robinson > “I am not certain that we are dealing with civilizational risk. What I am sure of is that we cannot afford to assume that we are not dealing with that level of risk anymore. That was what made my presence as somebody vouching for our safety work feel untenable.” > **— David Robinson**, *The Ezra Klein Show, October 7, 2026* ## Sources and Context - **Official episode:** [“This Is Nuts.” An OpenAI Insider Explains Why He Quit](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-is-nuts-an-openai-insider-explains-why-he-quit/id1548604447?i=1000793623910) — publisher-hosted episode identifying Robinson as Klein's guest and preserving the complete conversation. - **Publisher transcript:** [David Robinson on OpenAI safety and why he quit](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/06/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-david-robinson.html) — official *New York Times* episode page and transcript route. - **Timecoded source object:** [[research/David Robinson on OpenAI Safety, Superintelligence, and the Transhumanist Transition|David Robinson on OpenAI Safety, Superintelligence, and the Transhumanist Transition]], **17:18** — reconciled from the supplied complete YouTube auto-caption transcript and kept in broadcast order. - **Editorial treatment:** Verbal filler, stutters and transcript punctuation are normalized for reading; the quotation remains one contiguous source object and does not join different turns. - **Context:** In this portion of the conversation, Robinson addresses observed limits of safeguards, evaluation and control. The complete premise, mechanism and consequence are retained so the statement remains intelligible apart from the episode. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Article:** [[articles/Safety Discourse Is Transition Discourse|Safety Discourse Is Transition Discourse]] - **Article:** [[articles/We Cannot Un-Strike the Match|We Cannot Un-Strike the Match]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Immediate AI Risk Is the Public|The Immediate AI Risk Is the Public]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/David Robinson|David Robinson]] - [[wiki/Risk Debate|Risk Debate]] - [[wiki/Existential Risk|Existential Risk]] - [[wiki/AI Safety|AI Safety]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “I am not certain that we are dealing with civilizational risk. What I am sure of is that we cannot afford to assume that we are not dealing with that level of risk anymore. That was what made my presence as somebody vouching for our safety work feel untenable.” — David Robinson, The Ezra Klein Show, October 7, 2026 https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-david-robinson-civilization-cannot-afford-to-assume-ai-risk-is-absent ```