# AI Anxiety Spreads to Extremism > AI fears fuel violence as US and China react differently. - Title: AI Anxiety Spreads to Extremism · Foreign Policy | Shortify - Summary: AI fears fuel violence as US and China react differently. AI anxiety drives extremism in the US and China, with governments responding to prevent violence… - Keywords: ai anxiety, extremism, us government, china government, ai policy, labor market, extremist violence, ai regulation, moral economy, ai job displacement, ai extremism, ai violence - Source: Foreign Policy — https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/10/01/artificial-intelligence-existential-anxiety-extremism-violence-united-states-china-policy - Author: James Paterson - Read time: 1 min - Topics: ai anxiety, extremism, us government, china government, ai policy, labor market, extremist violence, ai regulation, moral economy, ai job displacement, ai extremism, ai violence ## AI Extinction Fears Tech leaders warn ai could kill all humans by 2036. > people building ai earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade ## Tech Leaders Call for Slowing AI Openai's sam altman, anthropic's dario amodei, and space x ai's elon musk urged frontier ai companies to slow model improvements. > frontier ai companies to slow the pace at which they improve model capabilities ## AI Anxiety Spreads Concerns about ai include data centers, privacy, and creative takeovers. > the ecological impact of data centers, privacy violations and surveillance, machine takeovers of creative endeavors ## Anti-AI Violence Emerges A 20-year-old threw a molotov cocktail at altman's home in san francisco. > a 20-year-old man allegedly threw a molotov cocktail at altman's san francisco home ## Targeted Attacks Rise Indianapolis city councilman ron gibson received 13 bullets with a note saying 'no data centers'. > no data centers ## AI Grievance Motivates Violence AI anxiety drives violence without shared ideology. > such grievance is amorphous and can be incorporated into the narratives of disparate extremist movements such as anarchism, environmentalism, or party radicalism ## US and China Differ on AI 85 percent of chinese respondents see ai as beneficial versus 38 percent of americans. > 85 percent of chinese respondents said ai offered more benefits than drawbacks, compared with 38 percent of american respondents ## No AI Extremism in China China has no reported cases of ai-driven extremism despite concerns. > there are no publicly reported cases of ai-driven extremism in china ## US Policy on AI Trump calls ai risks a hoax and pushes ai dominance. > a 'hoax' and proponents of a slowdown 'treasonists' ## US AI Action Plan US launched ai dominance policy with $50 million for reskilling. > the ai action plan outlined steps to make u.s. 'global ai dominance' a reality and designated $5.0 million for rapid reskilling and reemployment programs ## China's AI Policy China prioritizes ai employment strategies to prevent unrest. > china’s latest national employment strategy makes avoiding large-scale unemployment a bottom line ## AI Grievance Management Governments must address ai anxiety through policy. > the task for the state is therefore to ensure that those experiencing ai anxiety see political institutions as credible avenues through which their concerns can be heard and acted on ## AI Anxiety and Labor Three-quarters of americans fear ai job loss. > three-quarters of americans believe that ai will harm their job security ## AI Policy Solutions Governments should create community benefits for ai adoption. > new jersey is encouraging municipalities to negotiate community benefits agreements with developers ## AI Wealth Sharing Governments should mandate ai wealth sharing with workers. > governments should prevent firms from using ai adoption as a blanket justification for layoffs ## Extremist Threats AI anxiety fuels extremist violence in europe. > some extremist movements have already integrated ai anxiety into their ideologies ## Key takeaway AI anxiety drives extremism in the US and China, with governments responding to prevent violence through policy changes.