this post was submitted on 16 Aug 2026
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I don't just think AI should be regulated, I think everyone at the hyperscaler companies should be criminally indicted. Every employee at OpenAI and Anthropic working on AI development should be indicted on 8 million counts of child endangerment.
The relevant statute is California 273a.
It is a crime in the state of California to allow a child to be placed in a position where great harm could come to them. For example, people have been indicted under this statute because they had drugs in the same house as young children. Even if no children are actually hurt, simply putting them in a situation where harm is likely is the crime.
It would normally be quite difficult to prove that the actions of OpenAI and others are endangering children. But the very words of these companies would be the first exhibit of the prosecution. They've openly confessed to their crimes! These very same companies and their leaders have repeatedly said that they're building machines that they themselves believe have a reasonable chance of destroying humanity. And the children of California are a subset of humanity.
Whether their claims are realistic or not, I cannot say. But I simply cannot believe that it is legal to build a machine that you yourself believe could destroy the world. We're so glazed over by the novelty of AI that we forget to treat it like any other threat. In most places it is a crime to perform some action that you believe has a realistic chance of hurting people, even if you have no intention or desire to hurt people.
Well, according to OpenAI, the machines they are building represent a very real risk to the life and safety of every child in the State of California. I see no reason that they shouldn't be charged with millions of counts of child endangerment. According to their own words, they are literally putting the lives of children at risk. That is a crime. That is not legal. And we should stop pretending it is.
If this argument worked fossil fuel companies wouldn't exist
There's a big difference between, "I know my product will statistically increase the chance of early death across the population" and "I believe there is a very real chance my product will kill everyone."
All sorts of things increase risk. But child endangerment and similar laws are meant for very immediate and direct threats. OpenAI is building machines that they themselves believe could kill everyone. I see that as very similar to the idea of having fentanyl in the same house as young children. The fentanyl isn't a danger because it will increase the chance of the kids getting lung cancer in their sixties. The fentanyl is a danger because one dose of it could kill a kid instantly. The law addresses immediate threats, not statistical increases in mortality observable across the population.
What if companies lobbied and depositioned that oil consumption wasn't bad, greenhouse gasses don't matter, and that climate change wasn't real? All while having evidence to the contrary.
Like, a company does a thing. Turns out it was a bad thing, but - as an industry - lied under oath and paid money to have it all swept under the rug.
That's pretty damn bad.
AI companies seem to be marketing their thing as a bad thing, idiots drink the coolaid and make it a bad thing.
I think we are early enough in the adoption cycle before it becomes incumbent.
Whereas oil adoption was a miracle liquid/gas that absolutely moved humanity forward at the expense of the planet.
AI replaces humanity at the expense of the planet.