Signal's Meredith Whittaker: careless AI use is the real threat, not doom
Signal Foundation head Meredith Whittaker told the BBC that warnings of AI turning on humanity are "not anchored in science", arguing the more immediate danger is careless use of the technology. She cited a CNN-reported incident in which a chatbot used by US intelligence fabricated information about a Chinese vessel carrying nuclear material, reportedly nearly prompting a military response, and linked Google's Project Maven to a later US missile strike on a school in Iran; Palantir said there is no evidence its software was at fault. Whittaker also said Signal would leave any market, including the UK, that forced it to weaken encryption.
It captures the core split in AI-risk discourse: whether to focus on catastrophic hypotheticals or on harms already happening through misuse and automated decision-making.
ByMegha Mohan
Gender and identity correspondent
Warning: This article contains strong language.
Meredith Whittaker has little patience for the AI doom that dominates headlines - she thinks warnings of AI turning on humanity is a fear "not anchored in science".
"The risk is very real," says the boss of the Signal Foundation, which runs the encrypted messaging app of the same name, "but it's not the shiny ghost stories the wild-eyed boys are talking about".
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