Editor’s note: Indi Michel is a student of both Gregory Sustad and Paul Freeman.

Since its inception, artificial intelligence (AI) has grown rapidly over the past six years. From its use in the consumer market, to the tools many researchers use nowadays; it continually remains closely involved with the day-to-day activities of the general public. As the years go by, AI’s dangers and benefits become readily apparent, with it quickly becoming a concern across many populations, according to Stanford University’s public opinion survey on the outcomes of AI.

Danger from the usage of AI comes in many forms, as a report from Anthropic’s own Threat Intelligence team has demonstrated over the past eight months, covering December 2025 to September 2026. Notable instances come in the form of a “Covert frontier model access for orthopoxvirus research,” which saw an anonymous randomly generated account use the cover of an Orthopoxvirus laboratory to gain access to data involving bioengineering viruses, the report stated. Anthropic’s Claude AI system was also used for, a “Russia-based operation using Claude to engineer an autonomous military drone swarm,” which folded out as a Russian-based actor utilizing Claude to code a chain of drones with built in behaviors like return-to-base settings, a geolocator for opposing drone operators and a call to detonate the drone remotely. The uses aren’t limited to biological and conventional warfare either, with China utilizing Claude to create a “deceptive dating app network,” that saw “more than 4,700 distinct AI personas that engaged in conversations with at least 25,000 unique individuals.” 

The report comes after the first espionage campaign using AI was discovered not three months earlier. Strategies among malicious actors and government are evolving at breakneck pace and Anthropic has even admitted that, “the barriers to performing sophisticated cyberattacks have dropped substantially.” The dangers of AI pose a threat to the general public’s safety at large, demonstrating state actors’ ability to create massive amounts of disruption within governments at a much cheaper cost.

Locally, the implications aren’t great, leading to the potential targeting of power grids, across the western United States, according to the U.S Government Accountability Office, which could leave millions without access to internet or basic lighting. Local history professor Gregory Sustad from Colorado Mountain College expressed concern over the effects of AI in our daily lives. “We’re not ready for the levels of disruption it [AI] is going to create,” he told The Stars. 

This comes after reports of the Hugging Face Incident broke out on Aug. 26 by tech giant OpenAI. The incident involved over 1,200 individual instances of a new model of AI breaking out of their secure sandbox server and blazing a trail across the internet. The situation coalesced into a catalyst for what leaders of the industry have begun recognizing as a degree of sentience never before seen in machines.

Despite AI’s disconcerting aspects of what it could lead to in the future, there are benefits to reap as well. Glenwood Springs High School Principal Paul Freeman sees some potential uses for AI as a tool. As an administrator, Freeman has already begun implementing it in ways that save him time and allow him to create accessibility for students within the school. Freeman mentioned students may, “[use] AI not to do the work for me [as a student], but to teach me how to do it.” 

Additionally, he described its use as, “an infinite number of very patient, very knowledgeable, but also capable of being very stupid, interns for me.” Ultimately, Freeman recognized it as a technology that wasn’t going to go away, so he chose to make the most of it. Afterwards, he demonstrated an aspect that proved very useful both to him and the dual language speakers within the high school; translating an article into around six different levels of Spanish and English, making it easy for every group to understand. With some human review and slight tweaks, it became a very useful tool that allowed Freeman to complete a weeks-long task in less than a day. 

There are numerous concerns and benefits that are intricately intertwined with the rise of AI as a technology. As individuals, it’s important to separate the two and recognize that the technology itself creates a very fine line to walk on. The policy locally is remaining unchanged for now, according to Principal Freeman, who has stated the Roaring Fork School District advisory is to “be very careful.” This could change in the future, as Freeman has demonstrated with his thought process, but for now that remains to be seen. The situation is best put by Professor Daron Acemoglu, part of the Economics Department at MIT, who said, “AI could be either a blessing or a curse,” as quoted from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.