It should be noted that individuals at the forefront of AI research have a direct bias against saying AI is dangerous. It's their job, and saying anything which presents this research as dangerous could halt funding, and put them out of a job. It's also their passion, though, so it's an even bigger deal for them.
We have also seen individuals who have exited AI research calling for more regulation and ethics requirements. At the same time we are seeing AI ethics departments dismantled. These should stand out as red flags.
Autonomous drones are actively being used to bomb villages in Papua New Guinea. The idea that this kind of tech is "only going to be used for threats of violence and propaganda" is already outdated. It's being used today, and the US just plans to also adopt the tech itself.
Autonomous drones made by China have been used in Papua New Guinea to bomb at least one village so I think the US is actually behind the curve in terms of the AI arms race.
This is one of those classical sci-fi apocalypse ideas, where humans make autonomous war machines they can't turn off, and the machines outlive the humans and continue the war for them.