The focus on AI safety disasters ignores everyday harms

What happened

Sam Hiner and Emma Leiken argue that AI safety policy focuses too narrowly on catastrophic harms while overlooking everyday effects on learning, independent thinking, and relationships. They describe industry-backed chatbot legislation that addresses sexual content and self-harm while leaving emotional dependence insufficiently addressed. They call for evidence that classroom AI improves learning and critical thinking, restrictions on companions that pretend to be conscious or profess love, and independent scrutiny of effects on relationships and independent thought.

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The story so far

Sam Hiner and Emma Leiken argue that AI safety policy focuses too narrowly on catastrophic risks and call for safeguards addressing AI’s effects on learning, independent thinking, and relationships. They describe industry-backed chatbot legislation as addressing sexual content and self-harm while giving insufficient attention to emotional dependence. They call for evidence that classroom AI improves learning and critical thinking, restrictions on AI companions that pretend to be conscious or profess love, and independent scrutiny of how AI affects relationships and independent thought.