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Last Week in AI · Thursday, July 9, 2026

AI Safety vs. Security: A Semantic Shift

Jeremy Harris notes a shift in public perception where 'safety' in AI is downplayed while 'security' is taken more seriously, especially concerning potential AI threats like kidnapping. He believes rebranding safety concerns as security issues makes them more actionable and concerning to the public.

personJeremy HarrispersonAndre Krachkov

The tape

3 quotes
You know, you know, Andre, since the new political winds have shifted, safety now is a bad word, you see.
Jeremy Harris
So, even though I was always doing, like, equal parts safety and security, you know, you know, go back for thing from before, I will refer to myself as a security guy.
Jeremy Harris
If I say that AI kidnapping your wife and kids is a, is a safety problem, everyone's like, it's not, not an issue, everyone would just calm down. But the minute we say it's security, now it's real.
Jeremy Harris
Heard on Last Week in AI — “#251 - Mythos Back, Sonnet 5, Etched, LongCat, published Thursday, July 9, 2026. Heardvine summarizes and quotes with attribution and timestamps, and links to the original everywhere.
Transcribed via Gemini audio transcription · $0.08
AI Safety vs. Security: A Semantic Shift — Heardvine