Stop Picturing Killer Robots Already

AI isn’t a Hollywood horror movie.

“AI will not destroy the world, and in fact may save it,” predicted Marc Andreessen for the Free Press on July 11, 2023.

The unconventional viewpoint was voiced at a time when AI doomsaying was at its height. It’s hard to recall the panicked few news cycles that followed. There have been so many panicked news cycles since then.

Ramping up in July 2023, several prominent watchdog organizations reiterated calls for stricter AI regulation, citing serious risks. Influential figures in the tech industry, such as Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and Geoffrey Hinton (known as the “Godfather of AI”), voiced concerns about AI’s potential dangers.

Sensationalist media coverage amplified hypothetical risks, such as AI-driven wars or economic collapse. The AI scare was likely amplified to serve specific purposes, including catalyzing regulation and shaping public opinion.

The complete absence of any such news coverage in the 18 months since should indicate just how deadly the risks were.

Overshadowed, at the time, were balanced discussions of AI’s benefits. One such voice of reason in 2023 was Marc Andreessen’s.

“The stakes here are high,” he wrote in an op-ed for the Free Press. “The opportunities are profound. AI…