[Suzerain of Sheol]

To paraphrase Sam Harris (and he might be quoting someone else like Bostrom for this, but), "The only thing scarier than the potential threat of AI is the potential loss of not developing it." I know some people are okay with writing off things like Alzheimer's and cancer as facts of life, or the inevitability of a supervolcano or meteor impact annihilating civilization as we know it as something beyond our control, but that's pretty much exactly the point. Our best chance of making it to the next stage of civilization is with AI as a ladder. Check out the concept of the Great Filter as something related to this point, as well. (Though it's also possible that AI itself is a filter.)

@Claire, it's not that we're saying there's no reason to be afraid or worry -- far from it, it's just that the things to be concerned over aren't as basic as evil conquering robots with guns and red eyes taking over the world. They're a lot more subtle and insidious, working on the level of societal and economic shifts that could unbalance civilization, and the fact that it's not something most people worry about is actually part of what makes it so scary. It's a hurdle that we, as a species and global community, have to make it over, more difficult than arguably any that have come before, and the consequences could be catastrophic. But it's going to happen, to one degree or another depending on the limits of what's actually possible, and we need to figure out how to handle it.

(Not us specifically here on Trisphee, obviously :P)