Dan Gainor argues that the current media focus on an "AI apocalypse" is a recurring cycle of fear-mongering rather than a report on imminent danger. The author, a science fiction writer, contends that journalists are amplifying warnings from a mix of industry experts, conspiracy theorists, and Chinese-sponsored social media to create panic.
Gainor points to headlines from major outlets like Reuters and The Economist that use terms such as "AI doomsday" to describe the risks of artificial intelligence. He cites a CNN article asking if AI will kill everyone and an Axios piece detailing how AI could kill us all if worst-case fears materialize. According to Gainor, the goal of this coverage is to scare the public.
A central example in his argument is a quote from Nate Soares, president of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute and coauthor of "If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All." Gainor notes that Soares described the threat as "literally everyone on the planet dying, like the last human drawing the last breath." Gainor characterizes this rhetoric as familiar, comparing it to previous media scares about killer bees, murder hornets, supervolcanoes, and pandemics.
The author draws a parallel to the history of climate change coverage, noting that the press has shifted between warnings of global cooling and global warming depending on the era. He references a 1975 New York Times article that described a major cooling as "inevitable," suggesting that such dire predictions often fail to materialize. Gainor argues that the media prefers stories tied to weather because they provide year-round content opportunities.
Gainor attributes this pattern to what he calls the "Fear Industrial Complex," a group comprising governments, NGOs, politicians, activists, journalists, and business figures who benefit from public anxiety. He asserts that scared people are less likely to ask questions and more likely to comply with demands to fund causes or support issues. He cites Swedish activist Greta Thunberg as an example of this flexible approach to fear, noting her shift from climate change activism to other political causes.
The piece also critiques former CBS News anchor Scott Pelley for comparing climate change skeptics to Holocaust deniers in 2006. Gainor argues that this lack of balance is typical of the Fear Industrial Complex. He points to a recent New York Times report stating that scientists retired a dire climate scenario used for over a decade, which he views as evidence that previous claims were overblown.
Gainor compares the current situation to his own novel "State of Fear," which depicts environmental extremists causing disasters and blaming them on climate change. He includes a quote from the book stating that while industrialized nations have seen life spans increase by 50 percent in the last century, modern people live in fear of strangers, disease, crime, and their environment. He concludes by stating that science should not be decided by science fiction and that journalism's role is not to scare readers about the end of the world.