This is kind of an unpopular take among present company, but I believe there is some genuine cause for concern.

I’m gonna sandwich this with a loud declaration that I am not an AI booster, I’m not rube, and I agree that this is used as an excuse for state hacking and for adver-hype. And I do not fall for the diversion in responsibility onto “the AIs”: I hold human beings and companies responsible for the risks and harms.

That said, I encourage people to check out this video by Computerphile, a channel I consider to be run by sensible experts: www.youtube.com/watch?v=giTmBaNGaHw

Put basically, these random number generators are genuinely capable of acting in ways that are not easy to predict; they ARE capable of doing things that are dangerous or harmful to people and societies. They pose a risk as a result of bad actors doing harm deliberately as well as careless actors causing unintended harm. And the possibility that the risks these systems pose may be growing at a rate that will lead to catastrophic harms before we recognize the scale of risk is not something I dismiss.

Again, I’m not a booster, I’m not a fan, I don’t believe these systems are self aware or responsible for “their” actions, etc and so forth.