Firehose

A preference cascade about existential risk from AI has begun, with increasing public awareness and concern, as evidenced by a recent survey showing nearly two-thirds of Americans now believe there's a moderate risk that AI will destroy humanity, and a flash poll of business leaders showing 93% disagree with the President's assessment that AI dangers are being exaggerated. AI summary

US President Trump has downplayed concerns about AI existential risk, calling it a "hoax" and stating that the US has strong leadership to control AI. This stance is seen as a reaction to criticism from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and others, who argue that AI safety regulations are necessary to prevent catastrophic outcomes. Trump's comments have been criticized as uninformed and driven by self-interest, with some analysts suggesting that he may be trying to appease China or boost Nvidia's stock prices. AI summary

The contagion of fear Bryan Cantrill responds to the tweet by former Anthropic employee Jacob Coxon confirming that many Anthropic researchers believe AI "could kill us all by the end of the decade". Bryan shares a story of his own youthful…