>Most of those individuals have absolutely nothing commercial to gain from stopping AI research.
There are always financial incentives. Like it or not, there's a lot of money on the line in the "AI" industry; if someone wants that industry to go a certain way, they definitely have something to gain or lose financially.
In particular, it's obvious to anyone who's been paying attention that the west halting/ceding AI research only means the likes of China will just come out ahead from not bothering to stop (spoiler alert: China cares not for trivialities like ethics and morals).
There are always financial incentives. Like it or not, there's a lot of money on the line in the "AI" industry; if someone wants that industry to go a certain way, they definitely have something to gain or lose financially.
In particular, it's obvious to anyone who's been paying attention that the west halting/ceding AI research only means the likes of China will just come out ahead from not bothering to stop (spoiler alert: China cares not for trivialities like ethics and morals).