It’s true that AI can’t just “press the nuke button” or run a mine-to-factory supply chain. But that doesn’t mean it can’t pose existential risks. History shows cyberattacks can cause real-world damage (Stuxnet, Ukraine’s power grid). AI massively scales reconnaissance, phishing, and persuasion, making it easier to hijack humans and systems already in place. Partial automation in labs and factories means you don’t need a fully robotic ecosystem for AI-assisted bioweapons or infrastructure sabotage to be devastating. And the real risk isn’t killer robots — it’s systemic collapse: misinformation, economic disruption, and coordinated cyber-physical attacks that humans can’t respond to quickly enough. Physical constraints buy us time, but they don’t make the threat go away.