Dangers of AI, Data Centers, and Technology

[jusplay4fun]

AI has been in the news lately. I recently posted elsewhere in this Forum about Data Centers.

A few folks on the "inside" are warning about the dangers of AI, reminding me of The Terminator movies.

For years, they warned AI could kill all humans. Now people are listening.
Nitasha Tiku, (c) 2026 , The Washington Post
Thu, September 10, 2026 at 5:48 PM EDT

On a summer's day, Evan Hubinger issued a stark warning about the future with a boba drink in his hand. Artificial intelligence was a threat to humanity because it could one day learn to deceive its creators, he told a gathering of people who'd come to Berkeley, California, to learn more about the technology's risks.

"My guess is that … when we put it in a situation where it thinks it can kill us, it just murders us," he said, according to a video of his talk he posted to an online forum at the time. (...)

But when Hubinger issued a similar warning this week in a post on X, his message was viewed tens of millions of times, prompting state and federal lawmakers to echo his concern. Now he spoke as a team lead at Anthropic, developer of the chatbot Claude and a company set to go public at a valuation of over $1 trillion.

"AI could kill all humans … I personally think it is >10% within the next decade," Hubinger wrote, in response to the resignation of his colleague Jacob Coxon, who accused Anthropic of racing ahead despite the dangers.(...)

Whether right or wrong, the movement can now shape both policy and public opinion, like inciting this week's firestorm about the risk of human extinction, which flared across social media and prime time newscasts.

The same predictions of a grim end for humanity have circulated for years, said Sara Hooker, CEO and co-founder of the AI start-up Adapation, and a former research scientist at Google DeepMind. But the latest round reaches a public feeling growing unease around AI, she said.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/yea ... p_catchall

Science Fiction, by several major writers, have addressed issues of Technology dangers. I mentioned to my students the works of Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke earlier this week in Class, as we discussed the use of Technology and App Programs to automate our experiments to gather and record data. I told my students that they need to understand what the electronic device (hardware) is doing and measuring and what the programs (software) is doing. Most did not seem to know how software and hardware differ or even ARE in this context.

from AI

Several prominent science fiction writers have explored the dangers of technology in their works.

Mary Shelley is often credited with laying the groundwork for this theme in her novel Frankenstein, where she examines the consequences of unchecked scientific ambition and the creation of life

Isaac Asimov introduced the famous "Three Laws of Robotics" in his stories, which highlight the ethical dilemmas and potential dangers of artificial intelligence

Philip K. Dick frequently delved into the psychological and societal impacts of technology, as seen in works like Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, which questions the nature of humanity in a technologically advanced world

Arthur C. Clarke also addressed the implications of technology in his works, particularly in 2001: A Space Odyssey, where the AI HAL 9000 poses existential threats

[epic0002]

If you’re a heavy AI user, the idea that AI is going to suddenly become some unstoppable superintelligence and kill 10% of humanity is pretty funny.

Use it long enough and you realize it can be just as dumb as the people using it.

The real danger isn’t that AI magically becomes smarter than everyone. It’s that AI becomes a force multiplier. It widens the gap between people who know how to think, question, verify, build, and use tools—and people who just ask it to validate their feelings and do their thinking for them.

AI gives an average person convenience.

It gives a highly capable person leverage.

That difference is going to matter a lot more than some sci-fi extinction prediction.

So enjoy the free chats about your feelings.

Somebody else is using the same tool to build the system you’ll eventually depend on.

We own you.

[jusplay4fun]

As artificial intelligence grows increasingly powerful, some experts are raising a chilling question: Could superintelligent AI eventually threaten humanity itself? Former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon, who previously worked at OpenAI, recently warned that AI could potentially "kill us all" by the end of the decade. Much of the concern centers on the so-called "alignment problem," the possibility that an AI smarter than humans could pursue objectives or devise solutions that conflict with our interests, even without intending to harm anyone. Researchers envision scenarios ranging from attacks on critical infrastructure and widespread misinformation to AI systems gradually gaining influence over human decision-making.

Even more troubling are the potential connections to weapons of mass destruction. Experts warn that AI incorporated into nuclear command systems or autonomous weapons could allow a crisis to escalate at machine speed, potentially triggering a devastating "flash war." AI could also lower the barriers for terrorists or rogue states seeking to develop biological weapons, with Anthropic recently reporting five attempts to use its Claude system to obtain information that could support bioweapons development. While some researchers believe a truly intelligent AI would recognize that it depends on humanity for energy, materials, networks, and other resources, others fear that powerful AI systems operating beyond human control could ultimately make people little more than collateral damage.

This is coming from those who worked on AI, not from random musing of the uneducated or the ignorant.

[Apatheist]

Well, anyone who has seen the Terminator documentaries knows exactly what's coming.

[Dukasaur]

Well, anyone who has seen the Terminator documentaries knows exactly what's coming.

It is possible, but I'm an optimist.

I think The Time Machine is a more realistic portrayal of our future. I'm ready for Eloihood.

[ConfederateSS]

-------------BACK to THE DARK AGES ...........BUILD BIG CASTLES.......SURROUNDED BY WATER......KILL A ROBOT....YOU JUST NEED A CUP OF WATER......AMISH CASTLES.... ... ConfederateSS.out!(The Blue and Silver Rebellion)...