Are we doomed? Is AI conscious? And why are AI companies opening cafés? These questions are vivid, unsettling, and—especially in the case of consciousness—genuinely difficult. They also share a knack for pulling us toward the most speculative or emotionally compelling parts of the AI story. Meanwhile, the less cinematic questions are already shaping people’s lives: Who is accountable when an AI system causes harm? What data and labor made it possible? What decisions should it be allowed to…