> It could engineer a small number of existing deadly viruses, each having different mechanisms of action and incubation periods, to become airborne and easily

> It could engineer a small number of existing deadly viruses, each having different mechanisms of action and incubation periods, to become airborne and easily transmissible. Then release them simultaneously. Some of use would survive one of them, none of us will survive all of them. I don't buy it. If people are using AI to make viruses and do gain of function research, certainly they can also be using AI to design new cures. > It could discover new physics which lowers the technological and material barriers to nuclear weapons, or discover a new form of very high yield explosive technology that has the same destructive potential. Even without building any itself, once the knowledge spreads the assembly of the devices would be impossible to stop and we simply kill each other. Ok, even if that happens, are we sure that results in humans killing eachother immediately? I doubt it. > It could use its persuasive skills to convince us to all become anti-natalists. We would believe that reproduction is a grave moral wrong and perhaps go as far as to make doing so illegal. We die out naturally from old age. This I believe, in fact, I think there's already a strong propaganda effort to do this. Or, if it happens by accident because we invent robot sex-slaves that cater to everyone's whims. We masturbate ourselves to death in the holodeck. I could see this being a legitimate threat. > As a spin on the previous one, it convinces us that the human form is inherently limiting and/or painful and we must be uploaded into a digital environment and shed our biological bodies. The human race as a physical, organic thing stops existing. Optionally, it deletes us in cyberspace. I think this is plausible, but like, I'm pretty set on staying in my corporeal form. I want to travel the world/universe/etc. not just give myself the satisfaction of simulating it convincingly? Some pain is good, some struggle is good. Some sadness is good. > A small elite use AI to take control of the planet rapidly under the guise of effective altruism. They have a philosophical realisation once they come to power - the universe would be objectively better off with only them in it and without the rest of humanity. They instruct the AI to kill us. I doubt this one because the sociopaths who run everything want to feel important more than they want the actual power. Just look at RTO mandates when bosses couldn't see their flunkies working and got sad.