> They're fixated on AI itself as the risk ("alignment!!!1!1!!"), as opposed to what humans with these tools will do.

What really is the difference? Aligned AI wouldn't help humans do these things. But we've failed hard on aligned AI at every level and will continue to fail on it, as far as I can tell. We were likely doomed to fail because of the impossibility of coordination combined with the fact that there's no natural gating factor to slow anyone down.

FWIW I probably mostly see things closer to the way you do than they do, I'm just not sure there is any point in drawing distinctions.

IMO when AI kills us all it is probably not going to be a malignant action, and I don't even think it will be AI assisting humans at efficient killing, I think it is going to be a complete accident. Someone is going to trust the god machine too much due to an advanced form of the eliza effect and hook it up with direct control of a system that can do real damage and an epic oopsie will occur at a speed beyond which a human can stop it. Not because the AI wants to kill us, but because it is incapable of the empathy required to care if it does, combined with our ironic inability to not anthropomorphize it.

But I guess ultimately the exact reason isn't going to matter much.