I realized that this is another function of the doom mongering and hand waving: if people buy it then they can get out of liability for what their stuff does.

If I build a machine on my property and it harms someone else or their property, I can get sued.

But if I hand wave and claim it’s alive and “I’ve lost control” then…

Maybe we should call this gambit the “Frankenstein defense.” It’s bullshit. Your AI, you’re liable for whatever it does.

What if it does something so destructive that liability becomes a meaningless fig leaf in the wind?

What if it escapes containment and remains u uncontainable in perpetuity? What if it generates a bunch of false media simultaneously across the globe to insulate world war? What if it turns of internet access or electric grids in major metro areas for prolonged period of time? Or bricks major infra? Or less dramatic, what if it drives 1 in 10 kids into panic psychosis and effectively takes away 10% of humanity with already dwindling reproduction trends (without explicit murder) all while draining our financial and health systems? What if it does a lot of these things at once?

Who, my friend, are you going to sue?

I prefer calling it the "Simpsons defense" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZSoJDUD_bU