‘Great’ or ‘alarming’ - Should AI be reined in?

The BBC asked people in Washington DC about the technology’s rapid development and whether it poses a threat to humanity, as some experts warn.

Sep 14, 2026, 9:58 PM3 min readworld

The rapid development of artificial intelligence and fears over the risks the technology poses to humanity have been thrust into the spotlight by a series of warnings from executives and staff at AI firms.

Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei over the weekend called for the pace of AI development to slow and be more closely monitored. The BBC spoke to people in Washington DC to learn how concerned they are over the technology and it's speedy development.