Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt offers a contrarian view: The biggest threat from AI isn't the technology, it's the politicians who are being paid not to regulate it:
Speaking to a room full of AI industry figures at the TIME100 AI Impact Dinner in San Francisco, he skipped the usual warnings about the technology.
Instead he pointed at the people who are supposed to be keeping it in check.
He starts from a basic principle. When a business puts out something unsafe, the law should step in and tell it:
"You guys are gonna have to stop and make some changes. And then once you can prove that your products and services are safe and good for people, then you may reopen for business."
"That's how it is supposed to work. That's how the law works, right?"
So why isn't that happening with AI? His answer:
"When it comes to regulating AI, lawmakers in our country have been slow, they've been timid, and a lot of them have been taking money from the big tech lobby."
In his view, the law already has the power to rein in AI. What's missing are lawmakers willing to use it, so the answer is to replace them:
"We need new Congress people, new senators that can make some new laws that the AI companies have to follow."
And
@hitRECordJoe points out that the timing couldn't be better:
"It's September 2026 in the United States of America. The midterm elections are right around the corner. That means it's now. Right now. Now's the perfect time to organize, to mobilize, and to go out and vote in such strong numbers that they cannot stop us."
His instructions are simple:
"You find out who is the senator running in your state, who is the congressperson running in your state, and then you find out what are their positions on AI. And if they say anything less than strong regulation now, you don't vote for them because they're probably taking money from some of the guys in this room."