The equity problem: why AI-lab doomer employees profiting from stock undermines the safety narrative
intellectronica · x · 2026-09-09
Responding to the argument that AI lab employees genuinely believe their work might kill everyone yet keep working "so responsible people build it," with enterprise deals and IPOs purely funding the effort, critics point out a contradiction: if that story were true, why do employee equity incentives exist? A clear profit motive doesn't square with claiming terror about what you're building — especially when people vest, leave, and write tirades about the companies ending the world. One reply twists the knife: to land lucrative equity, management must believe you're bought into the apocalyptic crusade, and a few years of acting has great expected value.
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