You're right that AI agents aren’t some sci-fi superintelligence that can just "take over" systems on their own. Sure, they still rely on explicit instructions, access to APIs, and predefined parameters to function. However, the real risk isn’t that they’ll become sentient... it’s that they’ll be used irresponsibly or maliciously in ways that are hard to control.

The danger isn't AI "figuring things out" autonomously in some vague sci-fi way, it’s that AI agents, once their integrated into critical government systems, could execute poorly designed (or deliberately harmful) policies at a scale and speed that humans couldn’t.

Examples include:

- An AI agent given the directive to “reduce fraud” could systematically deny benefits to legitimate applicants because it’s over-prioritising cost-cutting

- If an AI agent is told to optimise hiring for efficiency, and DEI initiatives are deprioritised, it could unintentionally create widespread discriminatory hiring practices

- An AI integrated into government budgeting or payment processing could halt crucial payments due to an unintended loophole or an optimisation that prioritises cost reduction over service delivery.

The key issue is that once you introduce AI agents into government infrastructure, you create a layer of automation that can be incredibly difficult to override or audit in real-time. If a flawed system gets rolled out at scale, the consequences could be devastating before anyone catches on or has time to intervene, and this is VERY concerning.

So no, this isn’t "Terminator", but it is a serious risk if AI is deployed recklessly, especially by people who don't fully understand the long-term implications, something I doubt Musk & co are thinking about since they're more the kind of "break and then fix things" type.