AI Executives Privately Expect a Catastrophe Within a Year. They Are Not Rehearsing How to Stop It. They Are Rehearsing What to Say the Day After.
About This Episode
Axios reported Friday that top executives at Anthropic, OpenAI and other AI companies are privately gaming out scenarios for a public and political revolt after a catastrophic AI event, most likely a large cyberattack that cuts off banking, internet, power or water, which many insiders expect within six to twelve months. The preparations include red-teaming worst-case scenarios and educating members of Congress so the companies can shape whatever rules get written after the disaster. OpenAI confirmed it runs preparedness exercises and said the scenarios are not treated as inevitable; Anthropic declined to comment.
Our Take
The companies building AI privately call a catastrophe inevitable within a year and are rehearsing the aftermath instead of the prevention, which means the rules that govern AI will be written in the panic of the day after, and rules written in a panic are the ones that stay.
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