On the Internet, There Are Four AI Camps, and All of Them Are Driving Us Crazy

As we end the year, I keep coming back to the same thought: the reason AI feels so confusing and intimidating to so many people isn’t just the technology. It’s the conversation around it. On the internet, there are four camps when it comes to AI, and each one speaks loudly, confidently, and often past the others. If you spend enough time online, it starts to feel like you have to pick a side. I don’t think that’s true.

Doomers (Slow Down, AGI is Coming)

The first camp is driven by fear. These are the people who believe AI is becoming powerful very quickly and that something like human-level or superhuman intelligence is right around the corner. In their view, this kind of AI could be catastrophically dangerous. Some even believe it could wipe out humanity. Because of that, they argue that AI development should slow down or stop entirely until we can guarantee safety. I understand where this fear comes from. If you believe the stakes are that high, caution feels responsible. But this camp often lives in worst-case futures, and those futures can crowd out what AI actually is today.

Ethicists (Slow Down, AGI isn't close)

The second camp also wants to slow things down, but for very different reasons. They aren’t impressed by AI at all. Instead of worrying about future extinction, they focus on the damage already happening. They talk about biased systems, misinformation, surveillance, stolen data, and workers being exploited. Their argument is that all the talk about super-intelligent AI distracts us from real people being harmed right now. I find this perspective grounded and necessary, even if it sometimes treats current AI as nothing more than a problem to be managed.

Pragmatists (Speed up, AGI isn't close)

The third camp feels more practical. These people see AI as a tool. Not a god. Not a demon. Just technology. They believe AI is useful but limited, powerful in some areas and weak in others. This camp supports continued development, but with testing, guardrails, and rules that can change as we learn more. They resist extreme optimism and extreme fear, and instead focus on evidence and real-world impact. Most days, this is the camp I find myself closest to.

Futurists (Speed up, AGI is coming)

The fourth camp is deeply optimistic. These are the builders and futurists who believe powerful AI is coming soon and that it will unlock huge benefits. They talk about curing disease, accelerating science, and solving problems humans struggle with on their own. They want to move fast because they fear that slowing down will mean falling behind or missing out on progress. Their excitement is contagious, and I admire their ambition. But sometimes that excitement turns into blind confidence, where risks are waved away instead of faced directly.

Who's Right?

What strikes me is that each camp holds a piece of the truth. Fear can protect us. Ethics can ground us. Practical thinking can guide us. Optimism can push us forward. The problem isn’t that these camps exist. The problem is that online, they act like only one can be right.

As the year ends, I don’t think the answer is choosing a camp or finding the perfect middle. I think it’s learning how to borrow the best ideas from all four while rejecting the extremes that dominate internet conversations. Less panic. Less hype. More honesty. That’s how we make sense of AI, and decide what kind of future we actually want.

 

About Me:

Dominic “Doc” Ligot is one of the leading voices in AI in the Philippines. Doc has been extensively cited in local and global media outlets including The Economist, South China Morning Post, Washington Post, and Agence France Presse. His award-winning work has been recognized and published by prestigious organizations such as NASA, Data.org, Digital Public Goods Alliance, the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and UNICEF.

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