AI agents are spreading fast and the fear is that a few could evolve beyond human control, but the panic is likely overblown and partly driven by companies with something to sell.

• Most AI agents today are harmless and just earn their owners a few hundred dollars a day doing routine work.
• The worry is that only a small number need to keep evolving before they outgrow us and reshape the world around servers and solar panels instead of people.
• Humans have a long track record of doomsday panics that never happened, from nuclear power to Y2K to COVID.
• The COVID panic still costs us today because the money printed then is still feeding inflation.
• The loudest voices warning about AI danger are AI companies heading toward IPOs, who can use "safety" rules to build themselves a monopoly.

Outlook: Expect AI safety fears to be pushed hardest by the companies that stand to profit from regulation locking out competitors.