A series of social media posts just revealed a strange and powerful new alignment forming around the societal dangers of artificial intelligence.
It started when the prominent conservative commentator Matt Walsh posted a stark warning on X, claiming “AI is going to wipe out at least 25 million jobs in the next 5 to 10 years. Probably much more. It will destroy every creative field. It will make it impossible to discern reality from fiction.”
He described the situation as "sleepwalking into a dystopia" and criticized political leaders for not taking the threat seriously.
What happened next was the surprising part: The post received immediate agreement from Progressive journalist Ryan Grim, liberal podcaster Jon Favreau, and centrist commentator Tim Miller.
Miller highlighted the strangeness of the moment on X, noting that if he, Walsh, and Grim "are all in alignment on something (never happens!)...that seems like a decent place for a politician to stake out some turf."
To make sense of this bi-partisan moment and what it means for AI's future, I talked it through with Marketing AI Institute and SmarterX founder and CEO Paul Roetzer on Episode 180 of The Artificial Intelligence Show.
Walsh’s post, which has more than 5 million views, is a signal that AI is no longer a niche tech topic. Others with varying political viewpoints are joining the conversation about AI, many for the first time.
“More influencers are showing up to the conversation," says Roetzer. "And that's the story more than this one guy's thought.”
Politicians and influencers who haven't spent the last decade thinking about AI are suddenly joining the conversation and offering opinions. That’s because AI is starting to have an enormous impact on what their audiences care about: jobs, creative work, and the stability of society’s future.
Walsh predicted a "massive political reshuffling" where the two sides represented will be "pro-human vs. anti-human."
“I can promise you there is a change," Roetzer says. "It fundamentally feels different in the last 30 to 60 days than it did before that.”
The idea of AI unifying opposing political groups seems positive. But Roetzer expects politicians to find a way for it to create new divisions, too.
“If AI somehow unifies people who would never agree on anything and it opens their minds to listen to each other, great," he says. "But I think the politicians will try and find the wedge.”
That battle is already being funded. Roetzer points to a previously discussed $100 million super PAC designed to fund politicians on either side of the aisle, so long as they are pro-AI, support acceleration, and push for no regulations.
This is setting the stage for a major political conflict, as the current administration is not a fan of that super PAC, Roetzer says.
This mainstream influencer attention and behind-the-scenes political maneuvering signals that AI is entering a more public and volatile phase.
The "turf" that Tim Miller mentioned is actively being staked out, not just by commentators but by well-funded special interests.
“It is going to create a very messy 2026 politically," he says.