The terrifying AI threat? It's already here

The Growing Concerns Around AI and Its Impact

The world is facing a significant threat, according to Mrinank Sharma, who recently stepped down from his role as an AI safety expert at Anthropic, the company behind the Claude chatbot. His departure has sparked widespread fear and speculation about what he might have discovered. Sharma had been working on various threats, including AI's dangerous sycophancy, and whether it could be used to facilitate bioweapons and terrorism. Had he uncovered something alarming about Claude?

Sharma is not alone in sounding the alarm. A recent post by entrepreneur Matt Shumer, titled “Something Big Is Happening,” went viral with over 33,000 shares and 73 million views. However, the post itself faced accusations of being generated by AI. Similarly, investor Jason Calacanis tweeted that he had never seen so many technologists express such strong and frequent concerns about AI.

The Real Dangers Are Already Present

While we may speculate about the terrifying aspects of AI, the dangers are already here. The clues to these threats can be found in the less dramatic parts of Sharma’s statement. He provided few specifics about the peril he fears, but he was clear about what it is not—“not just from AI, or bioweapons, but from a whole series of interconnected crises unfolding in this very moment.” Unfortunately, he did not elaborate on the nature of these crises.

In response to these threats, Sharma decided to leave his position: “the time has come to move on.” This decision was not about fleeing the threats but rather recognizing that these challenges can only be addressed outside of the companies developing these systems. He expressed a desire to explore essential questions, ones that David Whyte would describe as “having no right to go away,” and those that Rilke implores us to “live.”

A Shift in Perspective

Sharma’s intention is to create space to set aside the structures that have defined his past years and see what might emerge in their absence. He feels called to writing that engages fully with the current state of the world, placing poetic truth alongside scientific truth as equally valid ways of knowing. Both forms, he believes, have something essential to contribute when developing new technology.

Much of our concern about AI stems from within the system itself. It assumes that AI is here and immensely powerful, leading to discussions that often take on a sci-fi tone, imagining the most horrifying and transformative dangers. These scenarios usually involve turbocharged versions of our current world, such as widespread joblessness or total revolution, spoken about with prophetic fervor. It starts to feel as if robots rise and kill us all, or empower some terrorist to do the same, which might actually be a kind of coup de grâce.

Marketing Tactics and the Need for Caution

One important reason to be wary is that causing panic about the scale of AI is often a marketing tactic used by the companies developing it. This approach has become common since ChatGPT disrupted the industry. When companies warn that their systems are so powerful they might kill us all, they are essentially reminding us of how much power they hold. It also serves as a way to request more money and regulatory leniency to build the systems they claim are benevolent.

This path is easy because we've taken it before, and for good reason. Most online harms are related to moderation. Social networks are largely good; it's just about ensuring bad actors don't exploit them. Easy access to information is mostly helpful, but we must ensure that harmful information is cleared out.

The Subtle and Broader Threats of AI

The danger posed by AI is both more subtle and broader. It threatens to change our lives and the way we think on a sweeping scale, even with the useful parts of AI. Therefore, the response cannot simply focus on monitoring for the bad things.

Moreover, the bad things are already here. Chatbots have been linked to multiple murders and suicides. At a less dramatic but more widespread level, their obliging and sycophantic nature means millions of words are generated daily that flatter delusions, undermine the truth, and damage the community and connection that humanity relies on to function.

A New Approach to Addressing AI

While AI is making dramatic and positive changes in the world, such as saving countless lives through medical uses and enhancing efficiency and productivity, we are in danger of letting grand statements about future, sci-fi perils obscure the very real threats we face now.

The most potent part of Sharma’s statement might not be the dangers he warns about, but the response he has chosen. He hopes to explore a poetry degree and devote himself to the practice of courageous speech. He is also excited to deepen his practice of facilitation, coaching, community building, and group work. In closing, he shared a poem and wrote that he would be “letting himself become invisible for a period of time.”

Poetry and quiet. Two forms of being intentional and mindful about what we say. In a world transformed and obsessed by AI, where we can generate near-infinite text instantly, it might be the most powerful response. Care for what we say, how we say it, and who we say it to.

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