Who is Mrinak Sharma?

Mrinank joined Anthropic in 2023. He was leading the company’s Safeguards Research Team which was created in February last year. He holds a DPhil (Doctor of Philosophy) degree in Machine Learning from the University of Oxford and a Master of Engineering degree from the University of Cambridge. That means technically he came from a very strong background. Such sudden resignation of a talented researcher like Mrinank raises many questions.

Mysterious resignation note: “The world is in crisis”

Mrinank did not mention the reason for his resignation in his social media post but his words said a lot. In his note, Mrinank wrote that the world is currently going through many crises. This includes not just AI or biological weapons, but also crises related to global upheaval. According to him, “We stand at a juncture where our understanding and intelligence must grow at par with our technological capability, or else we will have to suffer the consequences.” This statement makes it clear that his resignation is not about a change in career but could be an ideological decision.

Mrinanka raised questions on Anthropic’s policies

Mrinank has raised questions on the company’s working style and its principles. In a letter written to his colleagues, he clearly said that whatever the company says, it is very difficult to implement it in reality. He pointed out that there are often pressures at work that lead us to abandon the core values ​​that matter most. Although Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei always talks big about creating safe AI and his company describes itself as being at the forefront in this matter. But this statement indicates that there may be some difference between the public claims and the actual functioning inside the company. Although he did not directly accuse anyone.

Referring to the poem by American poet William Stafford

Mrinank says that now he does not want to waste his time in teaching AI to agree with humans. Instead, they want to write about the world we live in today. He believes that science alone is not enough to create new technology but understanding of poetry and emotions is also equally important. To explain his point, he referred to the famous poem “The Way It Is” by German poet Rilke and American poet William Stafford. It mentions an “unshakable thread” (moral compass) that does not change even in the midst of a changing world. This thread is like those principles of human being which never break even in the midst of changing world and difficulties. For him, this resignation is a way of holding on to this “thread of honesty”.

Now we will study poetry

Mrinank has clearly said that now he wants to study poetry and want to express his views fearlessly in front of everyone. In today’s time, where jobs worth crores of dollars are available in the tech industry, leaving it and turning to poetry is a surprising decision. But it is clearly visible from his words that he has listened to the voice of his heart instead of the corporate world of show and has kept his principles above all.

There have been conflicts over policies in the past too

Mrinank is not the first person who has had a conflict with his company over principles. Earlier in 2020, Google researcher Timnit Gebru had also left her job. Their dispute was over whether AI is biased. After leaving Google, she formed her own organization and now she talks openly about the shortcomings of big tech companies and their truth.

What is the reason behind the resignation?

There are mainly two main reasons behind the resignation of Mrinak Sharma. The first reason is moral and ideological concern, in which a deep uneasiness is clearly visible about the rapid progress of AI and its impact on society. The second reason seems to be the complexities of the workplace, which indicates that there may be a difference between the ideals that the company presents to the world and the decisions that it actually takes. However, the real truth of the resignation is completely known only to Mrinank and Anthropic.