Part 7/15:
The current surge is fueled by a conviction—among corporates and governments—that AI development is inevitable and must be accele-rated to stay competitive. Leaders like Elon Musk openly discuss building AI that can replace human labor, create trillion-dollar markets, and dominate global influence. The race is driven by the belief that if they don't lead, others will, and malicious or careless development could spell disaster. Harris points out that national and corporate interests are focused on achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI)—a system capable of performing all human cognitive tasks—well before safety protocols are in place.