> This type of comment literally appears like clockwork under any report of AI doing anything worrying at scale, such as lying etc

Is this a criticism of said comment, or just being sad of not being first?

It's good advice, and unrelated to AI. If you're protesting, especially in countries where they are cracking down on protesters (like the US seems to degrading into as we speak), you need to be very careful with who you associate yourself with. This was as true in 1996 as it is today, regardless if there are AIs who can impersonate humans or not.