Institutional Decay Amplifies AI Panic

When trusted institutions lose credibility, ordinary people lack authoritative intermediaries for interpreting complex technical threats; that vacuum makes sensational claims about AI (e.g., existential risk) stick faster and harder, turning uncertainty into widespread alarm and politicized policy pressure. The essay ties this dynamic to concrete institutional failures (WHO, CDC, FDA, Theranos) and public polling showing large shares fearing AI catastrophe. — If true, policymakers need to treat institutional rehabilitation and information‑infrastructure as central to any responsible AI policy, not just technical safeguards.