I had a very similar reaction. I think the problem is that the tone of this piece is strongly reminiscent of a high school history textbook: Bostrom, Hanson, and Yudkowsky are talked about as if they are famous historical figures, and the growing awareness of AI risks is discussed like it's a historical movement that happened hundreds of years ago. This tone is even more evident when Luke talks about Bostrom, Hanson, and especially Yudkowsky. Luke cites primary sources about Eliezer (e.g. his autobiography) and talks about his early life as if it's historically noteworthy, and adds commentary on his works (e.g. "CFAI was both frustrating and brilliant") in the same tone of voice that a history teacher would critique George Washington's battle plans. It just comes off as baffling to me, and probably even more so to an outside audience.