The AI Doomers Have Infiltrated Washington

A determined group of new age ideologues who believe artificial intelligence will become conscious and wipe out humanity are having an increasing amount of influence over U.S. AI policy.

This week, a State Department funded report declared that AI posed an existential threat akin to nuclear weapons—and even recommended potential jail time for unauthorized AI development. Last week, VentureBeat reported about a mutiny brewing at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), after staff discovered a leading AI doomer who predicts a “50/50” chance of AI wiping out humanity was being fast tracked into a roll at the AI Safety Institute (ASI), a newly-formed body to help research and develop policy and guidelines for regulating the technology.

The ASI was created by NIST as part of Biden’s Executive Order on AI. The order itself was drafted by the RAND corporation, which Politico reports has become increasingly entwined with a movement promoting AI doom narratives. This includes taking $25 million in funding from Open Philanthropy, a charity of Facebook billionaire Dustin Moskovitz and key funder of anti-AI projects.

Read more at The Daily Beast.