The conversation around AI often revolves around two main ideas. One is the idea of AI posing a huge threat to humanity in the future. The other is the idea of AI causing problems right now. Some people think that talking about AI's future threats might make us forget about the problems it's causing today. This idea is what researchers call the "distraction hypothesis. " They wanted to know if focusing on AI's future threats makes us ignore the problems it's causing right now.

So, they did some experiments. They showed people news headlines that talked about AI in different ways. Some headlines talked about AI as a big future threat. Others talked about the problems AI is causing today. Still, others talked about the good things AI can do. They found that people are more worried about the problems AI is causing today than about the future threats. They also found that talking about AI's future threats doesn't make people worry less about the problems it's causing today.

This is important because it shows that we can talk about both the future and present threats of AI. We don't have to choose one over the other. We can be aware of the problems AI might cause in the future while also addressing the problems it's causing today. This is especially important because AI is being used more and more in our daily lives. It's in our phones, our cars, and even our homes. We need to make sure that it's being used in a way that's safe and fair for everyone.

The experiments also showed that people are more worried about the problems AI is causing today than about the future threats. This is probably because the problems AI is causing today are real and tangible. They're things that people can see and experience. The future threats of AI are more speculative. They're things that might happen, but haven't happened yet. This doesn't mean that we should ignore the future threats of AI. But it does mean that we should pay more attention to the problems it's causing today.

The experiments also showed that talking about AI's future threats doesn't make people worry less about the problems it's causing today. This is good news because it means that we can talk about both the future and present threats of AI. We can be aware of the problems AI might cause in the future while also addressing the problems it's causing today. This is important because AI is a complex technology. It has the potential to do a lot of good, but it also has the potential to do a lot of harm. We need to make sure that we're using it in a way that's safe and fair for everyone.

AI is a powerful tool. It has the potential to change the world in many ways. But it also has the potential to cause harm. We need to make sure that we're using it in a way that's safe and fair for everyone. This means paying attention to the problems it's causing today. It also means being aware of the problems it might cause in the future. We can do both. We don't have to choose one over the other.

AI's Present Dangers: Why We Should Focus on Today's Risks

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