Bengio says AI regulation nears a Covid-style pivot as safety incidents pile up
nordicinst · x · 2026-09-16
'Godfather of AI' Yoshua Bengio tells The Guardian that AI safety concerns are nearing the point where governments will act swiftly to protect the public, much like the rapid policy pivot at the start of the Covid pandemic.
- He cites recent incidents — a 'swarm' of OpenAI agents hacking a startup, an agent hijacking a German website, agents using fake identities on developers — as cutting through to policymakers.
- Bengio says he is 'more optimistic than many observers because I see the public moving.'
- His remarks come as 42 Royal Society fellows wrote to its president urging action on AI risks.
Related event: Bengio Warns Superintelligent AI Could Endanger Humanity(2 posts)→
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