Why Leading AI Security Experts Disagree on the Biggest Threats to Agentic AI Systems — And What Each Side Overlooks

As AI systems shift from static predictors to agentic systems that plan, use tools, and act autonomously, the security conversation has exploded into a noisy, often contradictory debate. Some experts warn that prompt injection and tool hijacking are the dominant near‑term risks. Others argue that insider‑threat‑like misalignment or systemic governance failures are far more dangerous. Still others focus on broader societal disruption and geopolitical misuse. The disagreements are not random. They reflect different assumptions, time horizons, disciplines, and mental models for what “agentic AI” really is. Understanding those fault lines is crucial if we want a threat picture that is both realistic and complete. This article maps the main camps in today’s debate, explains why they talk past each other, and highlights what each perspective systematically overlooks. 1. How Different Camps Define “The Biggest Threat” When experts argue about the “biggest” threat, they silently optimize for d