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Signal president Meredith Whittaker: AI ‘Can Always Be Controlled’
Whittaker says AI isn’t likely to become conscious, warns about military misuse, Silicon Valley power concentration, and Signal’s refusal to compromise user privacy—even leaving countries to protect users.
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Meredith Whittaker, president of encrypted-messaging app Signal, told the BBC that fears of AI becoming conscious are "not anchored in science and evidence" and that, in her view, AI can always be controlled. She warned instead about real risks, like military use that could "supercharge mistakes," criticized concentration of power in Silicon Valley, and explained Signal's willingness to leave countries rather than compromise user privacy. Those comments compress a policy argument, control plus governance, into plain language from a tech-industry insider.