Sabine Hossenfelder: labs back AI slowdown to dodge lawsuits, not existential risk
skdh · x · 2026-09-15
Physicist Sabine Hossenfelder (skdh) quoted a speculation on why frontier AI lab leaders suddenly agree to slow AI development, adding her own take: (a) today's safety measures are so poor that labs risk lawsuits or even jail; (b) no major model breakthrough is coming soon anyway, so they need an excuse; (c) public opinion is shifting. She argues talk of existential threat mostly exists to distract the public and keep the stock market happy. Pliny the Liberator amplified it as one of the sanest takes on the current situation.
Related event: Debate Flares Over 'AI Is Slowing Down' Narrative(2 posts)→
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