Thread

LeCun has "zero concerns" about AI wiping out humanity, recent "rogue" incidents

400 points · 756 comments · Anon84

WheelsAtLarge · 1791060011 · focus · HN ↗
He's right. I'm on the side of Bill Gates. Gates started a whole industry on his insights of the future. He has proven his abilities. AI is and will be a great disruptor. We are losing sight of that and are instead focusing on trying to stop it. Something that won't happen. We are on a path that won't be stopped. As individuals we need to try to prepare for the changes that are coming and stop focusing on human extinction in ten years. New technology and the changes it brings are scary but we have dealt with it for generations. Let's continue.
1. mellab2 · 1791062581 · focus · HN ↗
  You say you agree with Bill Gates but your view is completely at odds with his, he is extremely concerned about existential risks … and your view is “stop focusing on it” ?
  1. jswelker · 1791071921 · focus · HN ↗
    Where does Gates talk about existential risk? All I read and heard was about increasing inequality, harming education and child development, creating economic and political discord, empowering evil people. No terminators in sight.
    0xDEAFBEAD · 1791072527 · focus · HN ↗
    "Bill Gates: A.I. ‘Makes Nuclear Weapons Look Like Nothing’ | The Ezra Klein Show"
    <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_156w0aYtU" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_156w0aYtU
    jswelker · 1791072908 · focus · HN ↗
    Yes that is one dumb quote, but I listened to the whole podcast, and it is nothing like that. And in some sense it is true because nuclear weapons have been successfully contained to rational acting governments, whereas AI cannot possibly. Nukes are extremely high blast radius (pun intended) but low diffusion. AI is the opposite.
    The worst part of the interview was a long cringe inducing tangent about Jeff Epstein. Everything else was pretty grounded.
    stratos123 · 1791108690 · focus · HN ↗
    > Yes that is one dumb quote, but I listened to the whole podcast, and it is nothing like that.
    Really? Here's a longer Bill Gates quote (from <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-bill-gates.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/opinion/ezra-klein-podcas... ):
    Ezra Klein: "So why is anything needed beyond — and is anything needed beyond? — the simply natural incentives under capitalism and normal corporate reputational management?"
    Bill Gates: "Well, I almost can’t believe you’re asking that. This is the most dangerous thing that humans have ever gone near. [...] You can take an open-source model that can create bioweapons and disable any monitoring of any kind, and this exists today. So no, there is no filtering of any kind. And so say you kill 100 million people — you want to use a lawsuit? I almost can’t keep a straight face."
    jswelker · 1791131763 · focus · HN ↗
    Still not existential risk. A bit hyperbolic I admit.

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