A field guide to AI positions

Timnit Gebru

Sources used: First-hand material.

This record is not plotted. The available evidence does not establish both map axes. Read the method.

Record status: Published record

What this status means

This is a published Atlas record with no open challenge recorded in this edition. It is not a guarantee that the sources are current or the interpretation is correct.

Status recorded: 2026-09-16. This is separate from the source-reading and actor-review dates.

How record statuses work

Publication dates and source age

Sources counted: 2

Newest dated source: 2026-09-11

At least one source was published within the 18-month window.

Assessed at this edition's evidence cutoff: 2026-09-15. 18-month boundary: 2025-03-15.

Publication age does not tell us whether a claim is still valid. Reading an old source again does not make its publication date newer. An update date does not establish that the passage we used was updated.

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What this position covers

Her public criticism of undefined AGI goals and her distinctions between AI risks. [1] [2]

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What to keep in mind

Unplaced: this review cannot summarize the different risks she discusses with one concern coordinate. [1] [2]

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What they say about the pace of AI

Recommends research on defined, testable tasks instead of trying to build an all-purpose AGI. [1]

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Journal abstract

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Context and qualifications

The authors emphasize harms to marginalized people and concentration of power. [1]

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Journal abstract

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What they say about catastrophic risk

Rejects rogue-machine extinction stories while naming weapons and climate as serious threats. [2]

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Answers about extinction scenarios and present threats

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The wider picture

Questions the pursuit of AGI and argues for research on defined tasks. [1]

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Why there is no dot

The coauthored paper supports a research focus on defined tasks. Its wider historical thesis is not adopted as an atlas conclusion. The concern evidence below discusses different types of harm, so this review leaves the point unplaced. [1] [2]

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https://theaiatlas.org/people/gebru/

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Sources and what we read

  1. 1. The TESCREAL bundle: Eugenics and the promise of utopia through artificial general intelligence

    Source is over 18 months old.

    Publication dates and source age

    Sources counted: 1

    Newest dated source: 2024-04-14

    Assessed at this edition's evidence cutoff: 2026-09-15. 18-month boundary: 2025-03-15.

    Publication age does not tell us whether a claim is still valid. Reading an old source again does not make its publication date newer. An update date does not establish that the passage we used was updated.

    Read the journal abstract and publication metadata only; full-text retrieval failed. Used for the authors' recommendation to study defined tasks. Their wider historical thesis is not adopted as an atlas finding.

  2. 2. One of AI’s Fiercest Critics Says All the Doom Talk Is ‘Meant to Distract Us’

    Publication dates and source age

    Sources counted: 1

    Newest dated source: 2026-09-11

    At least one source was published within the 18-month window.

    Assessed at this edition's evidence cutoff: 2026-09-15. 18-month boundary: 2025-03-15.

    Publication age does not tell us whether a claim is still valid. Reading an old source again does not make its publication date newer. An update date does not establish that the passage we used was updated.

    Read the published interview. Used her stated risk distinction, not claims about corporate motives.

Edition and machine-readable evidence

Content version 0.20.0. Evidence cutoff 2026-09-15; this does not mean every source was read on that day.

Pinned complete dataset · Complete evidence page · Agent consumption guide