Block CFO pushes back on AI doomsday warnings, calls for innovation with safeguards

Yahoo Finance·12 Sep 2026·

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Block CFO Amrita Ahuja said tech companies can balance giving users choice with protecting them from AI harms, pushing back on a dire warning from a departing Anthropic researcher. Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia & Tech Conference, Ahuja said companies cannot be paternalistic about how people use AI but must have safeguards for secure systems, adding that money and health are core to humanity and require a level playing field that no single company can provide alone. Her comments responded to Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon, who abruptly resigned and left the AI industry, warning that tech giants are gambling with our lives in a reckless race toward self-improving super-intelligence after three years at OpenAI and Anthropic. Ahuja, who also sits on the boards of Discord and Airbnb, said the goal is a sustainable ecosystem that innovates quickly while remaining responsible. She spoke as AI's growing impact has weighed heavily on white-collar jobs, including Block's own February layoffs that cut 40% of its workforce, while Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported 9,867 tech job cuts in July, bringing the sector's total to 149,023 this year, a 67% increase through July 2025 and 31% of all announced cuts.

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Block CFO's remarks on AI safeguards and innovation are opinion/context with no concrete company-specific development; article also notes Block's own February layoffs cutting 40% of workforce.

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