Slashdot has reported:

Executives at Anthropic, OpenAI and other artificial intelligence companies are privately preparing for a public and political backlash if a catastrophic event involving AI turns an already wary public further against the technology and its leaders. They anticipate a large-scale incident, most likely a cyberattack, that could shut down access to financial services, internet connectivity, power or water, according to Axios.

Many senior AI researchers and executives consider a major incident inevitable, and industry insiders told Axios they believe one will occur within the next six to 12 months. The companies are red-teaming worst-case scenarios and concentrating on educating members of Congress. Executives expect regulation has no chance of passing now, but want to influence the legislation and policies U.S. leaders may consider after a first catastrophic event.

OpenAI holds preparedness exercises in which teams discuss and work through possible scenarios. “These scenarios are not treated as inevitable, but are meant to help us prepare for a variety of circumstances,” a company spokesperson said. Anthropic declined to comment.

AI planners expect Democrats to gain momentum after the midterms and move quickly to restrict AI, though they anticipate significant challenges. Even if Democrats control both the House and Senate, companies expect political divisions to persist, including within the Democratic Party.