AI doomsday warnings a distraction from the danger it already poses, warns expert

A leading researcher, who will attend this week's AI safety summit in London, warns of real threat to the public conversation'

Focusing on doomsday scenarios in artificial intelligence is a distraction that plays down immediate risks such as the large-scale generation of misinformation, according to a senior industry figure attending this week's AI safety summit.

Aidan Gomez, co-author of a research paper that helped create the technology behind chatbots, said long-term risks such as existential threats to humanity from AI should be studied and pursued", but that they could divert politicians from dealing with immediate potential harms.