The current state of alignment is that we don't know how to make it only as bad as Pol Pot was made by his parents, teachers, genetics, circumstances, etc.
This remains true regardless of if it is or isn't kept away from the public.
"Helpful, harness, and honest": when used by a bastard, even just helpful and harmless are in direct conflict with each other. you may hate the government, but what about every radical group of extremists that wants to take over your government? Are none of them worse?
None of this denies the problems with governments (if or not they take this tech for themselves and refuse it for others), just that it's a lack of imagination to say:
> All the worst outcomes involve taking this technology away from the public
I agree an argument can be made that not all the worst outcomes include restricting public access, but focusing on niche extremist groups (who might also get access to it through government programs by some of them being government employeed) is not a good argument to protect the public.
Governments having unbalanced power can more easily lead to authoritarianism, and thus risk to the public.