AI ‘Terminator’ fears may mask real Chinese threat

The recent spike in apocalyptic AI warnings from Anthropic, OpenAI and others could reflect genuine fears about ​this rapidly advancing technology’s threat to humanity, but it may also signal a more prosaic fear about the Chinese threat to US tech ​firms’ business models. As Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping prepare to meet in Washington this week, ‌the two ​countries could be entering a new phase in the AI arms race. Financial markets have long worried about US tech’s mountainous borrowing to fuel the AI buildout, but these anxieties have been compounded in recent weeks by a sudden burst of doomsday scenarios floated and promoted by industry insiders.

The recent wave of AI “doomerism” kicked off on September 8 when former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon posted on X that “people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill ‌us all by the end of the decade.” His post has been viewed 173 million times, sparking a wildfire debate about the pace and safety of AI development that has drawn in the most powerful leaders in the industry, wider business world, and government. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei on September 12 penned a lengthy essay on the need to moderate the development of AI model capabilities. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceX founder Elon Musk expressed agreement, broadly calling for the technology to be slowed down or subjected to greater oversight.

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Source: https://www.reuters.com/commentary/reuters-open-interest/ai-terminator-fears-may-mask-real-chinese-threat-mcgeever-2026-09-22/?fbclid=IwY2xjawVW6stleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBwZG9mAXNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR9oQAHKb-6GinnsbnI2ntwKrl9pzhToMNZatbitWYrimFOQTCw66QsVNNUhhA_aem_7suA_sDBKE2R8T34AYQOdQ