Washington's message to AI execs: please shut up

Washington has always viewed Silicon Valley as culturally strange, but the current crop of AI leaders is becoming a political liability, sources close to the White House and Congress tell Axios.Why it matters: Lawmakers, hill staffers and Washington insiders in both parties wish AI founders would do what every other major industry chief does: put a sock in it and just build their products — safely.By centering the conversation around digital sentience and global catastrophe, AI leaders are turning an already complicated regulatory debate into an impossible moral panic.State of play: Rather than leading the charge to persuade Americans about the benefits of AI, and the potential for shared prosperity — the core elements of any winning political campaign — industry leaders are constantly warning of its existential dangers. What they're saying: Lawmakers say the message from AI execs too often alternates between prosperity and doom, sometimes in the same public appearances. The whiplash creates adds to political instability in the face of an already powerful public backlash, lawmakers and regulators say."It's obvious that they're tripping over their own shoelaces in trying to sell th…

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