I’m inclined to agree that it might be a good thing if the mainstream did freak out more, to shake them out of their current complacency. But there’s probably a sweet spot for how much to freak out, and I get the sense that a lot of LWers are way past that.
Also, I think that the ideal is for people to freak out once when they realize that AI is actually a big deal, in a way that gets them to shift more of their attention on the topic. But it would be good if they would then calm down so that they could think about the issue clearly. I think that an extended state of chronic freakout isn’t going to be conducive to solving the issue.
I’m inclined to agree that it might be a good thing if the mainstream did freak out more, to shake them out of their current complacency. But there’s probably a sweet spot for how much to freak out, and I get the sense that a lot of LWers are way past that.
Also, I think that the ideal is for people to freak out once when they realize that AI is actually a big deal, in a way that gets them to shift more of their attention on the topic. But it would be good if they would then calm down so that they could think about the issue clearly. I think that an extended state of chronic freakout isn’t going to be conducive to solving the issue.