MIT's Seth Lazar slams AI-risk cohort: a mutually confirming circle that selects for conformity
johnowhitaker · x · 2026-09-17
MIT professor Seth Lazar publicly rebuked scholars in the AI existential-risk camp (reshared by John Ow.hitaker), arguing that anyone who hasn't updated their views since their 2023 paper has stopped engaging with the evidence. He criticized the community as ideologically homogeneous — colleagues who mutually confirm each other's priors are not converging on truth but "selecting for conformity," a dynamic he says does a disservice to their students and their university's broader mission. The exchange reignites the long-running feud between AI safety advocates and skeptics.
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