Good points. I should have written that the point about control is implicit. The default framing focuses on risks, as you say, not on making something happen that gives us more control than we currently have. I think there’s a natural reading of the existential risk framings that implicitly says something like “current levels of control might be adequate if it weren’t for destructive risks” or perhaps “there’s a trend where control increases by default and things might go well unless some risk comes about.” To be clear, that’s by no means a necessary implication of any text on existential risks. It’s just something that is under-discussed, and the lack of discussion suggests that some people might think that way.
Good points. I should have written that the point about control is implicit. The default framing focuses on risks, as you say, not on making something happen that gives us more control than we currently have. I think there’s a natural reading of the existential risk framings that implicitly says something like “current levels of control might be adequate if it weren’t for destructive risks” or perhaps “there’s a trend where control increases by default and things might go well unless some risk comes about.” To be clear, that’s by no means a necessary implication of any text on existential risks. It’s just something that is under-discussed, and the lack of discussion suggests that some people might think that way.
The second part of my comment here is relevant for this thread’s theme – it explains my position a bit better.