AI’s Emerging Superintelligent Behavior: Should We Be Scared? By Shea Carlberg ('25) and Diya Kumar, ('26) George Washington University.
There are many predictions for how the AI industry game of chicken between China and the US will intensify amid a heated global trade battle. Being in a room with AI entrepreneurs, academics and policy makers at the Semafor “ AI Safety in the Age of Superintelligence ” conversation on September 30 underscored some multifaceted perspectives. The event's two speakers, Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and New York Times bestselling author Nate Soares had widely different concerns. While Sen. Kelly grounded his probe in the immediate pressures facing his constituents—such as the strain that AI-driven demand has placed on Tucson's energy grids— Soares could not be clearer about the urgency for global coordination in order to avoid superintelligence “killing” us all. Senator Kelly framed the issue in terms of economic disruption. He estimated that by 2030, approximately 12% of economic output generated in Phoenix could be tied directly to AI, raising the specter of millions of workers displ...