alt Hacker NewsModels are quite safe when they're useless, actually.
In the times of GPT-3 I'd scoff at the idea of an LLM doing any hacking; today, I'm running several AIs on my code before publishing, and they are finding (and demonstrating!) RCEs on my localhost server.
For example, one found a missing check in a third party JWT library which allowed full account takeover, which I'd have never even looked at.
Hence I don't believe a single word coming out of these people's mouths. Their "beliefs" are just marketing.
From today's perspective, it sure seems like it, probably because increased capabilities have generated a new kind of danger. Back then, they were worried about stuff like the model telling me dangerous knowledge.
I certainly think the labs have muddied the waters using safety for marketing, but that doesn't mean less capable models weren't more dangerous at one point.