i don't understand why being an AI researcher makes you automatically skilled at assessing existential risk. sure, it qualifies you to research AI, but why are they all suddenly nostradamus?
It's an Argument from Authority, nothing more.
Well, the people who don't study AIs are probably less able to assess the risk from AI.
I can't tell you really anything about a nuclear weapon going off accidently. But I can tell you a lot about the probability of your computer systems getting hacked.
So, yea, expertise gives you more information than a person without it.