What is the first line of defense against dangerous AI that is being ignored?

It is liability. You build a product. If that product harms someone, you are civilly and potentially criminally liable for it. That is the rule every single business in America operates under. These AI companies are asking for broad societal regulation as a way to exit that first line of defense. What they should be doing is disclosing exactly what risks they believe exist and demonstrating what they are doing to bound those risks. If they cannot do that, people need to get involved. The nuclear analogy is instructive. When we built the bomb, the people who did it were not on payroll. They believed in something. Today, everyone who understands these systems is on some payroll. Who exactly do you trust to regulate it?