<h1>Morality, the Thread We Cannot Let Go - Epoch Times</h1>
<p><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2023%2F11%2F16%2Fid5530829-KayRubacek_WEB.jpg&amp;w=256&amp;q=75" alt="Kay Rubacek" width="222" height="222" style="float: right;" hspace="10" /></p>
<p><a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/author/kay-rubacek" class="underline hover:no-underline">Kay Rubacek</a>&nbsp; --&nbsp;<time datetime="2026-02-22" class="whitespace-nowrap text-gray-60 text-sm" data-testid="post-date">2/22/2026</time><span class="mx-1.5">|</span><span class="">Updated:&nbsp;</span><time datetime="2026-02-28" class="whitespace-nowrap text-gray-60 text-sm" data-testid="post-date">2/28/2026</time></p>
<p><strong><em>Commentary</em></strong></p>
<p>Most people have never heard of Mrinank Sharma. That is part of the problem.</p>
<p>On Feb. 9, 2026, Sharma resigned from Anthropic, one of the most influential artificial intelligence companies in the world. He had led its Safeguards Research Team, the group responsible for ensuring that Anthropic’s AI could not be used to help engineer a biological weapon. His final project was a study of how AI systems distort the way people perceive reality. It was serious, consequential work for humankind. His resignation letter was seen more than <a href="https://urlsand.esvalabs.com/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fx.com%2FMrinankSharma%2Fstatus%2F2020881722003583421&amp;e=9cab87e7&amp;h=0b4d9e96&amp;f=y&amp;p=y">14 million times</a> on X. It opened with the words, “the world is in peril.” And it ended with a poem and by announcing that he was leaving one of the most consequential jobs in artificial intelligence to pursue a poetry degree. Yes, you read that right: peril and poetry.</p>
