Gary Marcus: only internet-connected general-purpose AI agents warrant worry, not extinction
GaryMarcus · x · 2026-09-13
AI critic Gary Marcus posted a blunt take cutting through AI extinction-risk discourse.
- Most AI doesn't threaten extinction or even mass cybercrime
- The only real worry: general-purpose AI agents hooked up to the internet — unreliable, unable to systematically follow instructions, yet capable of hacking credentials and websites, and likely worse given time
- His framing: they aren't too smart, they're too dumb (specifically at consistently following instructions)
- Proposal: temporarily recall internet-connected agents as unsafe products and forbid use until proven safe — no slowdowns or panic needed
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