> Some of the more technical commentators now refer to Chat GPT as being merely “spicy autocomplete” which is a pretty on-the-nose description.

That vastly understates what it does. Chat GPT can be a very convincing conversationalist. It can't always convincingly pass as human, but the fact is that it can make someone feel like they're talking to an intelligent entity and it has the potential to be hugely influential. Take a look in some of the subreddits for AI Chats like Replika or Chai and you'll see plenty of people who treat AIs like actual friends and companions. The potential for someone to take control of these things and use them to subtlety influence people is a very real concern going forward if they become widely used.