The focus on AI safety disasters ignores everyday harms
This article argues that technology companies and lawmakers focus too narrowly on preventing 'spectacular' AI disasters to avoid regulation. It contends that this approach ignores the insidious, everyday harms caused by AI dependency and social media algorithms.
Why it matters
It provides a critical perspective on the limitations of current AI safety debates, advocating for a broader definition of harm that includes cultural and psychological impacts.
Lawmakers are passing industry-backed bills to guard against the worst outcomes, rather than addressing more common problems.
Consider what passes for success in technology policy. An AI company promises that its chatbot will not encourage suicide . A social media platform makes it more difficult for children to buy fentanyl . These are important protections, and they should have existed all along. But companies can clear these low bars while continuing to make products that leave young people dependent on simulated friendships or trapped in feeds built to keep them scrolling.
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