Very hard to say how threatening AI really is. We need more research to determine that. Even if it is an existential threat, a moratorium will not make it go away. That's why we still have nukes.
it really is not hard to say. have you played around with the technology? have you sat down and thought about it yourself?
what we have is a continuously improving system that can write code and solve problems with intent, and is starting to have access to the internet. I don't think AI is inherently evil or will do anything harmful on its own, but it is a tool that humans will use to harm each other, deliberately or otherwise.
if you need research, go and read some of the myriad science fiction on the topic, or just imagine an "intention bot", where you set up an LLM with a goal, then have it iteratively write and execute programs to attain that goal.
also there undoubtedly is research on the topic, but I don't need to read it to know that completely controllable brains with access to the internet, that don't get tired or bored or have to sleep or eat are an extremely dangerous thing
