Rep. Josh Gottheimer was watching his daughter’s field hockey game in northern New Jersey on Thursday when two parents walked over. They didn’t want to talk field hockey. They wanted to know what was going on with artificial intelligence. The congressman, who co-chairs a House AI commission, kept hearing that question all week. The spark was a departing Anthropic researcher’s warning in the Journal on Tuesday that rogue AI could destroy civilization.
Who’s Worried, and Why
The unease had been building for months, fed by fights over AI surveillance cameras and data centers and by fears of widespread job loss. Then posts from Jacob Coxon, the departing researcher, and a colleague drew hundreds of millions of views. Suddenly it was Bible-study material. At a Wednesday session in Miami, the Rev. Christopher Benek took several questions about AI from his congregation.
Celebrities joined in. Jimmy Kimmel wondered on air why we aren’t taking it more seriously, and Matt Damon, Maggie Rogers and Sheryl Crow weighed in. Page views of Wikipedia’s article on existential risk from AI jumped more than tenfold. Nate Soares, co-author of If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies, sold more books Wednesday than he usually does in a week, his publisher told him. “The message never broke containment until now,” he said.
Alarm Versus Evidence
For all the noise, the idea that AI wipes out humanity is a fringe opinion among industry experts. Even some who think it’s possible call it unlikely and stoppable. At a Bay Area event Thursday, none of the dozen or so CEOs that investor Sean Byrnes spoke with took the threat seriously.
The more useful worry is practical. About half of the customers of Ketryx, which automates compliance for medical-device makers, raised AI anxieties on calls this past week, CEO Erez Kaminski said. In that business, a mistake could mean the wrong drug in a syringe. At a team dinner Thursday, his staff decided to review their risk-management systems.
A household can run the same drill. The planning version of AI anxiety asks two things: how much of your income rests on work this technology could change, and whether a frightening week would push you to sell. Settle the second on a calm day. Reading about storms has never kept anyone dry. An umbrella does, so bring a recent statement; fifteen minutes will show how your plan holds up.