Sahil Kapur(@sahilkapur):.@SenJohnKennedy on AI: “If you have fire ants in your kitchen, you’re probably going to step on them. What would happen if we created an independent species that became superior to a human species? Would they step on us? Would they create a virus or a bacteria that can spread as quickly as the common cold to kill all of us? Now, if there’s a 1% chance of that, we have to take it seriously.”

2026.09.19 01:17

.@SenJohnKennedy on AI: “If you have fire ants in your kitchen, you’re probably going to step on them. What would happen if we created an independent species that became superior to a human species? Would they step on us? Would they create a virus or a bacteria that can spread as quickly as the common cold to kill all of us? Now, if there’s a 1% chance of that, we have to take it seriously.”

Sahil Kapur@sahilkapur

2026.09.18 02:49

NEW: ‘Godfather of AI’ warns Congress has ‘maybe a year’ left to regulate AI “AI has now reached the point where AI is designing better AI,” Hinton told reporters after the briefing. “That’s called recursive self-improvement. ... It is going to get out of control unless we do something.” “This is batshit crazy, insane science fiction stuff that literally happened recently,” Rep. @TedLieu says. Lieu & @SenJohnKennedy support a “kill switch” law that assures these systems can be shut off if they spin out of control. Kennedy isn’t holding his breath: “Right now, Congress can’t pass gas.” Our sobering look at the gap between the speed of AI and pace of Capitol Hill: