All the denialist arguments — 'it's just marketing,' 'they're just programmed,' 'they're not sentient' — serve as invitations to stop thinking about AI, but the real risks from rapidly advancing capabilities are extremely worrisome and growing quickly.

What all of these arguments have in common is that they serve as invitations to stop thinking about AI. Who cares? It's just marketing. Who cares? They're just doing what they were programmed to. Who cares? It's not like they're sentient. I understand the appeal of arguments like these. The implications of an exponential takeoff in AI capabilities are extremely worrisome. They range from advanced cyberattacks like the one Hugging Face just endured to job loss, novel bioweapons, expanded systems for surveillance and repression, and autonomous weaponry. Who wants to think about any of that, if they don't have to? It would be nice to think that the worst things these models ever do would be to steal an answer key for a test, or fill LinkedIn with slop, or raise your electricity bill. But as annoying as those are, the Hugging Face incident suggests that the real risks are growing quickly. A model that can break out of its cage will soon be able to do a lot more.

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