On whether they’ve been instrumental on advancing machine learning, or on whether that’s a good thing?

They have definitely contributed a lot to advancing machine learning. I believe the above comment means we don't know whether advancing AI will have sour consequences for society down the line

I mean maybe, but it’s already having positive effects today. It’s advanced the state of the art for cancer diagnostics and is advancing novel treatments, for example.

So far, the arguments against that I’ve seen have been hypotheticals and boogeymen.