[cs702]

In my humble opinion, NO ONE knows if the threat is imminent, far-fetched, or imaginary.

NO ONE. Not Musk, Not Zuckerberg, not Putin. (Putin!!??)

What we DO know is that we don't have artificial general intelligence (AGI) today, and that achieving it will likely require new insights and breakthroughs -- that is, it will require knowledge that we don't possess today.

By definition, new insights and breakthroughs are unpredictable and don't necessarily yield to anyone's predictions, timelines, or budgets. Maybe it will happen in your lifetime; maybe not.

That said, it should be evident to everyone here that AI/ML software is going to expand to control more and more of the world over the coming years and decades; and THEREFORE, it makes a lot of sense to start worrying about the maybe-real-maybe-not AI threat -- and prepare for it -- now instead of down the road.