Jon Stewart Breaks Down the Threat of AI: ‘Why Can’t We Just Slow This Down?’

Jon Stewart set his sights on AI on the latest episode of The Daily Show, unpacking the threats posed by the technology and Donald Trump‘s mediocre reaction.

“As many of you know, there has been great concern lately over AI and what data centers will do to local communities,” Stewart explained. “The threats posed by rogue AI agents. So President Trump called all of the biggest AI leaders to the White House to finally address the concerns of the American people.”

Instead of taking action during the summit, Trump suggested that AI leaders should police themselves. “What, did they give you millions of dollars or something?” Stewart asked. The host pretended to hear something in his ear piece and then confirmed, “I’m being told they gave him millions of dollars.” He added, “How can you justify letting the tech giants regulate themselves?”

Stewart reflected on how the AI leaders have struggled to make potential human annihilation by AI seem less scary. “There’s definitely a chance AI will kill us all,” Stewart concluded after playing a few clips of an awkward Mark Zuckerberg. He added, “Why can’t we just slow this down rather than let people regulate something they have a clear conflict of interest in regulating?”

He explained that many AI leaders have claimed the technology will someday benefit society, including helping to cure diseases. Today, however, the current uses include drones that help ICE track immigrants, cyber attacks, and mass surveillance.

“In the future, we will use AI to cure diseases,” Stewart clarified. “But right now it’s mostly murder, surveillance, and surge pricing for the McRib. What a trade. I’m getting the sense you guys might be full of shit.”
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Stewart also broke down the loss of jobs that AI will cause, how AI leaders are claiming it will result in “universal high income,” and the distractions tech companies continue to unfurl.

Later on the show, Stewart spoke with Jacob Coxon, a former researcher at Anthropic and OpenAI, about the reality of the AI industry.