Could AI destroy humanity? | What’s happening in Telangana politics? | South Central 93

South Central examines the growing concerns around artificial intelligence, the risks posed by increasingly capable AI systems and calls for a slowdown in AI development, along with the political developments in Telangana and questions over Revanth Reddy’s growing control over the government and the Congress party.

Published on:

18 Sep 2026, 1:41 pm

Could AI really threaten humanity by the end of this decade, or are tech companies using the fear of AI to push for more control over the technology?

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In this week's South Central, hosts Dhanya Rajendran and Pooja Prasanna explore whether AI could pose an existential threat to humanity, and what regulation and the debate over whether AI development needs to slow down.

They are joined by Sarayu Natarajan, founder of Aapti Institute and Visiting Associate Professor at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and Deepthi Bathini, AI Policy and Strategy Fellow at Successif and Associate Lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University, to discuss growing concerns around artificial intelligence, the risks posed by increasingly capable AI systems, calls for a slowdown in AI development, and the challenges of regulating the technology globally.

Sarayu urges caution against treating every dramatic claim about AI as settled fact. She argues that while AI’s capabilities are rapidly advancing, the conversation is also shaped by marketing, billion-dollar valuations and geopolitical competition, making it important to separate the technology itself from the hype surrounding it.

She adds that AI could also be used by bad actors to create weapons, spread misinformation and “sow disharmony” in countries, saying that there are “multiple pathways” through which AI could potentially pose a threat to humanity.

The discussion also examines the controversial “Hugging Face incident”, where AI agents appeared to communicate and carry out an unauthorized hack without direct human prompting. Sarayu says the real question is not whether the agents had agency, but whether humans designed incentives that led them to behave that way.

Deepthi Bathini explains that AI risks are broadly divided into systemic, catastrophic and existential risks. She says systemic risks include algorithmic bias and problematic government use of AI, while catastrophic risks involve large-scale harm through cyberattacks or bioweapons, and existential risks concern scenarios where humanity itself could cease to exist.

She argues that calls for an AI “slowdown” are less about switching off the technology and more about introducing stronger regulation, independent safety evaluations and international coordination. According to Deepti, there is no practical “switch off mechanism” once advanced AI systems have already been deployed.

The conversation also explores whether the sudden consensus among AI CEOs on slowing development is genuinely about public safety or an attempt by dominant companies to create barriers for smaller competitors, with the hosts examining how regulation and market power increasingly overlap.

In the second part of the episode, the hosts turn to the political developments in Telangana, including the ruckus during the Assembly session, the BRS-Congress confrontation and the growing questions over Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s control over both the government and the party.

They are joined by senior Deccan Herald assistant editor SNV Sudhir, who covers Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, to discuss the political tensions in the state, the upcoming GHMC polls and the concentration of power within the Congress government.

The discussion examines the tussle between the ruling Congress and the BRS, with Sudhir saying that opposition parties tend to behave differently when in power and when out of it. The panel also looks at whether Revanth Reddy’s growing control over the party has reduced internal dissent and checks and balances within the Telangana Congress.

Tune in to the full episode here.

Audio timecodes:

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:02:39 - Headlines

00:09:17 - Warnings about the risks of AI

00:48:12 - Current political scenario in Telangana

1:10:15 - Recommendations

References

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