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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute

@dairinstitute.bsky.social
7K followers 154 following 185 posts

AI is not inevitable. We DAIR to imagine, build & use AI deliberately. Website: dair-institute.org Mastodon: @DAIR@dair-community.social LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/dair-insti…

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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Join us for a virtual event to commemorate the Lampedusa shipwreck tragedy and discuss the human consequences of the growing use of surveillance, data and AI in migration control. Register here: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
flyer for DAIR virtual event on October 1, 2026 from 6-8PM CET. Hear details in post caption
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 29m
In which @timnitgebru.blacksky.app and @emilymbender.bsky.social remind us that the risk of AI is not "superintelligence gone rogue," but human reliance on flawed systems in high-stakes situations: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Forget ‘superintelligence’: error-prone AI nearly sparked world war three this month | Timnit Gebru and Emily M Bender
The risks of AI aren’t what we think they are, as a recent security incident between China and the United States reveals
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Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.blacksky.app · 1h
Lovely to see the people from all over the world who have joined us. I see Siri Lanka, South Africa, Germany, US, Argentina at least so far. We are discussing horrific events but I'm glad to have this community around the world commemorating this horrific event with us.
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Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.blacksky.app · 2h
Who is this technology "protecting"? Who is surveilling and who is paying the cost? There is still not enough research about refugees and technology. The research is being discussed at conferences, universities etc. "The human touch" is missing. There are human beings on the other side.
Smart Borders. And other text that is not legible.
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Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.blacksky.app · 2h
Happening now. At our "Lampedusa keeps on happening" event, @meron.bsky.social is telling us the stories of the people who perished. The stories of the human beings behind the statistics. You can still join us by registering at us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Meron, with a photo of an Eritrean woman and her children. With a caption that says "Helen, who died alongside her youngest three children in Lampedusa."
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Braden @niyate.bsky.social · 3h
Thank you for having @timnitgebru.blacksky.app @dairinstitute.bsky.social back on, and for allotting a longer segment to talk through the issues! Ai companies need to be regulated for the harm they're causing NOW, not for imaginary future sci-fi harm
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Democracy Now! @democracynow.org · 3h
AI safety expert Timnit Gebru says tech leaders are promoting greatly exaggerated claims about "superintelligence" and "existential risk" as a way to distract from the real threat — their own unregulated companies.
democracynow.org
The Real Existential Risk Is AI CEOs Avoiding Oversight: “Alternative Nobel” Winner Timnit Gebru
We speak to the prominent AI researcher and leading critic of the AI industry, Timnit Gebru, who was recently awarded a 2026 Right Livelihood Award for her work investigating the harms and hype behind...
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 5h
VIRTUAL EVENT TODAY: Refugees experience some of the most harmful impacts of AI and surveillance. What would it look like if technology was designed to support them instead? Register on Zoom: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
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MediaJustice @mediajustice.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
For folks both in the Bay and national, join us for #OaklandTechWeek on our IG livestream, where we’ll broadcast our main stage convos for #BuildingBeyondBigTech. We'll broadcast our CA landscape analysis and our "Their Future Vs. Our Future" Panel. www.instagram.com/mediajustice/
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kaputte Kaffeemschine auf Betriebsurlaub @blueskyeria.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.blacksky.app latests Surveillance Watch @dairinstitute.bsky.social dair-institute.org/projects/sur... No AI ‘Existential Threat’ podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... ***REAL**** impacts of "AI" on the most vulnerable populations, refugees us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
We're thrilled to announce that DAIR's @timnitgebru.blacksky.app is a 2026 Right Livelihood Laureate! Thank you, @rightlivelihood.org, for spotlighting how we can challenge power within the AI industry and build tech futures rooted in justice, human needs, and human creativity.
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Right Livelihood @rightlivelihood.org · 30/09/2026
The 2026 Right Livelihood Award goes to women and women-led organisations challenging entrenched power structures: 🏆 Jalila Haider @jalilahaider.bsky.social 🏆 Rural Women's Assembly 🏆 Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association 🏆 Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.blacksky.app rightlivelihood.org/2026-announc...
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Roland Meyer @bildoperationen.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
This is really fantastic and more than well-deserved - congratulations, @timnitgebru.blacksky.app, you're an inspiration!
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
We're thrilled to announce that DAIR's @timnitgebru.blacksky.app is a 2026 Right Livelihood Laureate! Thank you, @rightlivelihood.org, for spotlighting how we can challenge power within the AI industry and build tech futures rooted in justice, human needs, and human creativity.
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Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.blacksky.app · 30/09/2026
Friends, while they're trying to talk about fictional machine gods, don't lose sight into what they're all actually powering in real life. You can browse the the entities on the website and use the API, and learn more about it on the DAIR project site: dair-institute.org/projects/sur....
dair-institute.org
Surveillance Watch
This interactive map reveals the intricate connections between surveillance companies, their funding sources and affiliations.
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Alex Hanna @alexhanna.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
On October 3, 2013, 368 people lost their lives in the Lampedusa shipwreck. This Thursday, join @dairinstitute.bsky.social's "Refugees, Migrants, and AI" project for an event commemorating those who died and asking why Lampedusa keeps happening. us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Flyer for DAIR virtual event on October 1, 2026 from 6-8PM CET. It reads 'Join DAIR as we commemorate the 2013 Lampedusa tragedy and ask, "What would it take for technology to protect people on the move, rather than deepen the risks they already face?"'

It features images of four people: Meron Estefanos, Dr. Selam Kidane, Dr. Omer Shatz, Dr. Hyab Yoahnnes
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
How can we build an organized force for tech justice? Oakland Tech Week is exploring the possibilities. DAIR's @timnitgebru.blacksky.app will be there in conversation with @parismarx.com and others. Event is sold out, but visit the OTW website for info on virtual options: urlvanish.com/6fe70bc9
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Marcelo Soares @msoares.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Ms. @timnitgebru.blacksky.app calls the doomtrolling bluff and practically sends an "OK doomer".
wired.com
Timnit Gebru Believes There Is No ‘Existential Threat’ From AI
One of AI’s fiercest critics believes the doom talk is about founders making money, not saving humanity.
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Kerstin Sell @kerstinsell.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
1/2 I was wondering / confused about the apocalyptic scenarios industry leaders have been sharing lately & about the accompanying calls for regulation... this is spot on:
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dylan baker @dylnbkr.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Looking behind the headline: 1. Guardrails = good. But when we let companies build their own guardrails, they are often avoiding the guardrails we NEED: ones imposed by third parties to serve the public interest. 🧵
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Alex Hanna @alexhanna.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Wages were won through people power. We dispel 5 common myths in my new video, Myths Around AI and Productivity, based on the work we’ve been doing at @dairinstitute.bsky.social with The Luddite Lab. Full video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BO0...
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Tyne Daile Sumner @tynedaile.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
A reminder that this exists and that it is, verifiably, very cool: www.surveillancewatch.io
surveillancewatch.io
Surveillance Watch: They Know Who You Are
Surveillance Watch is an interactive map revealing the intricate connections between surveillance companies, their funding sources and affiliations.
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Looking forward to this pre-screening panel at #OaklandTechWeek on Tuesday 9/29. DAIR's @alexhanna.bsky.social will be in good company! Register at the Oakland Tech week website: oaklandtechweek.com/sessions/gho... @mediajustice.bsky.social @ghostdoc2026.bsky.social
a black graphic with neon green text reading "Building Beyond Big Tech: Screening Announcement: New Parkway Theater, Tuesday September 29th, 5:30-8:30PM, Panel 6PM, Film starts 6:30PM. Questions? Contact eli@mediajustice.com. A black graphic with neon green text reads "Building Beyond Big Tech: Film Panel Announcement." Under it are circular photos of four speakers. Steven Renderos, Moderator, a person with light-brown skin and a beard, Dr. Alex Hanna, a person with light brown skin in a black shirt, Thema Monroe-White, a person with dark brown skin and short black hair, and Sam Biddle, a person with light skin and short dark hair.
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Yes! We need workers' expertise and lived experiences to help shape how AI is built and deployed. In contrast to the tech execs "representing capital’s avaricious vision for genAI technology...the voices in this report speak in terms of progress, fairness, and defence of the vulnerable." 👏👏👏
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
@timnitgebru.blacksky.app and @emilymbender.bsky.social puncture the latest AI hype, addressing everything from "hacking" to "math breakthroughs" to "superhuman" machines (and possibly break a record for scare quote usage along the way). www.technologyreview.com/2026/09/22/1...
technologyreview.com
Don’t be fooled by this summer of AI hype
Breathless claims about AGI and new capabilities fall apart pretty quickly under scrutiny.
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Milagros Miceli @milamiceli.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Thrilled to announce that the De Gruyter Handbook of Critical Data Studies, co-edited by @ulises-mejias.bsky.social , @jasminemcnealy.com, and yours truly, is now out! 33 chapters, 50+ authors, and a wide range of perspectives on power, policy, methods, case studies, and resistance.
cover of the De Gruyter Handbook of Critical Data Studies, Edited by Ulises A. Mejias, Jasmine E. McNealy and Milagros Miceli
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dylan baker @dylnbkr.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Reading the press about Jev and TypeSafe AI and it's wild to see ppl seemingly re-discovering what folks like @timnitgebru.blacksky.app have been saying this whole time. Yes, ML models should be well-scoped, structured, & testable! Being context-appropriate is, in fact, the most important thing!
A screenshot of text that reads: Large language models (LLMs) are designed to produce text for humans to read. When you need a model to make a judgment that your code will consume, that creates a mismatch: you are coercing a text-generation system into outputting structured decisions, then parsing the results back into something your code can depend on.A screenshot that reads: "My experience is that Sutton’s bitter lesson is the tip of an iceberg of bitterer lessons: beyond compute and algorithms, there’s data and even picking the right task to do ML on." Below that is an image of a pink pyramid with four different vertical layers, which read top-to-bottom "algorithms", "compute", "data", and "doing the right task". Below that is the text: "The bitterest lesson in ML is that doing the right task > data > compute > algorithms."
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sinajo.bsky.social @sinajo.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
This conversation with Timnit Gebru was so hugely insightful. It really helped me to understand the eschatological, ‘effective altruism’ side of the AI delusion as a form of eugenics.
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Lora Kolodny @lorak.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Elon Musk talked up AI safety, threats from "superintelligence" this week, all while fighting off regulation... It's a strategy he's used for more than a decade, as documented by @dairinstitute.bsky.social & others. My latest @cnbc.com www.cnbc.com/2026/09/18/a...
cnbc.com
Elon Musk talks up AI safety while fighting regulation in wild week of strange alliances
In the past week, Musk has agreed with the CEOs of Anthropic and OpenAI, while getting contradicted by President Trump and Nvidia's Jensen Huang.
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
DAIR's @dylnbkr.bsky.social weighed in on the mythical "kill switch" for @scientificamerican.bsky.social. Mitigating the harms of AI, as with any industry or technology, will instead require robust external regulation and safeguards. www.scientificamerican.com/article/what...
black text on a white background, reads: Dylan Baker, a research engineer at the Distributed AI Research Institute, goes further: the switch metaphor itself is the problem. “There’s such a complex ecosystem and web of interconnected technologies that we’re talking about that boiling this down to a single kill switch or ‘slowdown’ is reductive,” they say.
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Krystal Kavita Jagoo, MSW (She/Her/Hers) 🇹🇹👊🏽✍️🏾♊️♊️♏️ @equitableforall.com · 17/09/2026
Loved this takeaway from @timnitgebru.blacksky.app!🔥 airesistlist.org
airesistlist.org
The AI Resist List
A living directory of ways communities resist AI harms—and build alternatives worth fighting for.
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Meron Estefanos @meron.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Don't forget to register
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
@timnitgebru.blacksky.app talks with @theferocity.bsky.social and @zachstafford.bsky.social about how we can take back the future from unimaginative AI billionaires, plus that one time she confronted Elon Musk face to face 👀 link.podtrac.com/vibecheck
link.podtrac.com
Vibe Check
A weekly podcast where Saeed Jones and Zach Stafford make sense of what’s going on in news and culture – and how it all feels. Vibe Check is your favorite group chat, come to life. Subscribe to Siri...
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Lora Kolodny @lorak.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Dr. @timnitgebru.blacksky.app, founder of DAIR, said plenty of laws already apply to AI and claims of existential risks are overblown. “There is no AI exemption in existing statutes. Fraud is still fraud. Discrimination is still discrimination.” www.cnbc.com/2026/09/15/t...
cnbc.com
Trump’s opposition to AI rules undercuts industry's calls for a slowdown
Anthropic and OpenAI have called for mandatory safety checks to be put in place as fears intensify that AI can soon be too powerful to control.
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Rich Burroughs @somewhattolerable.com · 15/09/2026
Really great interview with Timnit from Bloomberg. Props to them. We could use a lot more of this and less of people quoting CEOs who are trying to pump their IPOs.
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
@timnitgebru.blacksky.app gives a history lesson on AI "existential risk" talk and explains how we don't have to accept Big Tech's utopia or apocalyptic visions for the future: www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/...
bloomberg.com
Watch Gebru: AI Security & Safety Is About Human Control - Bloomberg
Timnit Gebru DAIR Institute Founder & Executive Director, discusses her early warnings about artificial intelligence risks and her departure from Google’s ethical AI team in 2020. She discusses whethe...
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
just announced: @timnitgebru.blacksky.app will be giving a keynote at @sxsw.com this year!
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Alex Hanna @alexhanna.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Side eyeing the "pro-human" anti-AI coalitions. When someone tells you who they are the first time, you should believe them.
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Zach Stafford @zachstafford.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The incredible @timnitgebru.blacksky.app joins Vibe Check tomorrow for an episode you cannot miss. When I say @theferocity.bsky.social was SHAKING!!!
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Brass Castle @brasscastle.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Jesus Christ. All of life is parody.
Classic cartoon showing three children and a man in a tattered business suit sitting around a small fire with the man saying that yes, the planet was destroyed but for a beautiful moment they created a lot of value for shareholders.
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SXSW @sxsw.com · 15/09/2026
@timnitgebru.blacksky.app is a renowned AI thought leader and the Founder/Exec Director of Distributed AI Research Institute. Her SXSW Keynote session "Deep Unlearning: The Rise of AI and the Radicalization of a Tech Idealist" will cover the critical lessons she has learned working in tech and more.
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
“Whether it is doom or utopia, these are two sides of the same coin of the same messaging that's [saying] you are creating extremely powerful civilizational altering machines. And that speaks to investors.” @timnitgebru.blacksky.app on AI execs' doomsday talk: www.instagram.com/reels/DdQjLH...
instagram.com
Al Jazeera English on Instagram: "AI companies are warning that their technology could wipe out humanity. But are the apocalyptic predictions actually benefitting the companies themselves? ⁣ ⁣ Al Jaze...
3,479 likes, 102 comments - aljazeeraenglish on September 14, 2026: "AI companies are warning that their technology could wipe out humanity. But are the apocalyptic predictions actually benefitting th...
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Milagros Miceli @milamiceli.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
RSVP to attend at us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
us02web.zoom.us
Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Lampedusa Keeps Happening: Refugees and the Power of Tech to Harm or Heal. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webina...
On October 3, 2013, 368 people, mostly Eritrean refugees, lost their lives in the Lampedusa shipwreck. On the 13th anniversary of the tragedy, join DAIR’s "Refugees, Migrants, and AI" project for an e...
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earl grae @earl-grae.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
“When a bridge collapses, you don’t analyze whether the bridge was ethical or sentient or why it decided to collapse. You ask, who is the person who built this bridge to be so flimsy? …When you ask about the bridge collapsing itself, you’ve lost the thread.” god, i live for a sharp metaphor.
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Arte es Ética @arteesetica.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Daños reales que la industria tecnológica podría perpetuar: «que la IA impulse armas autónomas, máquinas de matar, que de hecho se están utilizando en la guerra. La catástrofe climática podría verse agravada por lo que estas empresas están desarrollando» 🎯 Timnit Gebru bsky.app/profile/dair...
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Emily M. Bender @emilymbender.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Want an example of successful pushback on "AI" (surveillance) ed tech? This story is uplifting and amazing. @ifeoma.bsky.social is absolutely amazing. Thank you @alixdunn.com and @themaybe.org for this episode. www.themaybe.org/podcast/meet...
themaybe.org
Meet the Mom Winning Against AI in Schools w/ Ifeoma Ozoma
In New Mexico, kids are required to read aloud to an AI avatar named Amira—and it records their voices without consent. Ifeoma Ozoma fights back.
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Graeme Swanson @swansonian.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
This is interesting. There’s definitely a tone of weird humble bragging to the AI will cause the apocalypse talk, like those saying it are in awe of it rather than scared.
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Reilly Spitzfaden (they/them) @reillypascal.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Archived link: archive.is/D2uB0
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
@timnitgebru.blacksky.app explains how doomers and their "machine-god narrative" are feeding the hype machine and distracting us from the real harms of AI: www.wired.com/story/one-of...
wired.com
One of AI’s Fiercest Critics Says All the Doom Talk Is ‘Meant to Distract Us’
Timnit Gebru argues that AI companies are stoking fears of extinction to avoid discussing actual harms, like autonomous weapons.
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The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute @dairinstitute.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
As DAIR's @alexhanna.bsky.social explains, AI execs' doomsday statements about cybersecurity risks are a convenient distraction: sfstandard.com/2026/09/11/a...
sfstandard.com
Why do the people building AI keep warning us about the end of the world?
An ex-Anthropic employee’s concerns set off the perfect storm of AI safety arguments, conspiracy theories, and questions about humanity’s demise.
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