AI extinction fears are moving from fringe to lab policy
The unsettling part is not that outsiders fear extinction. Employees at leading AI labs are saying advanced systems could plausibly destroy humanity, which makes the question practical rather than philosophical: what evidence would justify action now? MIT Technology Review’s Niall Firth, Will Douglas Heaven, and Grace Huckins examine where the risk comes from, how much is hype, and what safeguards would follow if the threat is real.