If a terrorist threat led experts to warn of an imminent existential threat to humanity, the entire power of the US government would be mobilized in an immediate and comprehensive effort to save the situation, writes CNN.
However, to a series of serious warnings from the leaders of companies dealing with artificial intelligence - that their creations may soon surpass human ability to control - the Republicans who govern Washington have so far reacted indifferently.
President Donald Trump said Sunday that "negative forces" are inventing "things that won't happen." House Speaker Mike Johnson rejected calls for emergency legislation, telling CNN that executives at AI companies that are "pushing the boundaries" of the technology could slow the pace on their own if they wanted, but that Congress should not rush into such a decision.
Both also warned that a slowdown in the U.S. AI industry would give China the upper hand in the race to develop super-intelligence, making the debate no longer a security issue, but primarily a matter of national security.
The Republican inaction contrasts with increasingly frequent warnings from key Democrats, including former President Barack Obama, that the world -- without government-imposed restrictions on this technology -- could cross a "dangerous" line.
What scientists have warned
A leading researcher on aligning artificial intelligence with human goals at Anthropic (the company behind the Claude AI model), said he believes there is more than a 10 percent chance that the technology will "kill all humans" in the next decade.
He warned that his company does not have a plan to ensure that artificial super intelligence (ASI) is adapted to the needs of people, that is, does not harm them.
Evan Habinger posted this dramatic message after his colleague Jacob Coxun quit his job this week.
Coxun, an Anthropic researcher who previously worked at OpenAI (whose ChatGPT is), terminated his employment, claiming that "no company is acting responsibly." He said that they ignore the threat or deal with it inadequately, thus "gambling with our lives".
Estimates of when ASI, the theoretical concept of an AI agent that would be more intelligent than even the most intelligent humans, could be developed range from a few years to more than a decade.
Real journalism costs money, and we will not be bought by tycoons and corporations. Support us with a one-time or monthly donation. The time for it is now!
