Suggested stance: emotional distance and compassion.
Your stance is focused on things (facts, reality) when it really should be on people (the person, your relationship with them, yourself).
Definitely don’t make any commitments, new payments etc to the person until you’ve figured out how you want to handle it, but other than that the object level is kinda irrelevant.
You should be protecting yourself, and making sure not to instinctively hurt the other person or your relationship with them.
Counter-argument:
Any and all actions are fundamentally legitimate if they actually lower p(doom). Yes, this includes breaking the law and killing people who are bringing about the end of the world.
Incentices matter to businesses. Threats to safety for leading AGI races are incentives. Destruction of extremely expensive equipmemt and facilities changes the investment value.
There are leading companies and leading researchers. They are likely not easily replaceable, see Zuckerburg’s and Musk’s failed attempts to compete with money.
Other countries are not racing. Only the USA is. The fact that other countries could theoretically create AGI does not mean stopping racing behaviour is worthless. It would change the entire dynamic and allow for more responsible development.
Voilent protests do not work to create change. As a heckler’s veto it may work much better, see terrorists success at stopping reform for the better in their countries in the ME.
This does not mean violence is the correct answer right now. This does not mean violence will be the right answer.
This does mean that you are not showing your work with the meat of the issue—unlawful violence can be useful, and if it is useful the cost/benefit could be net positive in some situations. Show that this isn’t one, and when one would arise.
This post is a cop-out