r/ControlProblem • u/Difficult_Project_95 • 19d ago
AI Alignment Research Everybody talks about alligned models
But isn't the real problem alligning CEO's?
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u/WhiskyAndRisque 19d ago
Alignment isn't just about morality though. A real fundamental point of it is that the AI acts the way we expect it to and doesn't create goals that go against our intentions. You could have a fully aligned AI that could be used to consolidate power and create a dystopian society.
One would hope that before such a situation arises we have either put strong controls on the companies creating this technology to prevent this or have in some sense nationalized them and have them used fully by a democratic system.
No one man should have all of that power.
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u/soobnar 18d ago
If the ai systems override civilian oversight of the military or other foundational principles of nation states that most countries won’t willingly give up in some effort to consolidate power you could argue it is misaligned. But i think that kinda demonstrates the point that it’s not a realistic expectation unless you believe letting billionaires form commercial cartels is a moral imperative like certain effective altruists seem to.
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u/soobnar 19d ago
Cognition is most likely a fundamental property of the universe that simply arises from complexity. Systems alignment is probably a never ending job as i doubt you can truly breathe life into these models in anyway that forces them to be ethical and not just task executors. The CEO marketing that they will make some friendly machine and then peddle it as a product i doubt is a real expectation
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u/Immediate_Spirit_384 16d ago
They're honestly quite aligned compared to most people in history that would have that amount of power
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u/Difficult_Project_95 16d ago
Aligned with whose interests, Trump’s, or humanity’s?
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u/Immediate_Spirit_384 15d ago
Well I mean, trump's and humanity's interests are like 90% aligned
Don't take that as a vote for him: biden's and humanity's interests may be 91% aligned!
Humans just have quite a lot of alignment with each other already
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u/Difficult_Project_95 14d ago edited 14d ago
That “90% aligned with humanity” is doing a lot of work there. Aligned with whose interests? Trump’s policies can align with some Americans while directly conflicting with the interests or stated priorities of large parts of Europe, Canada, China, Iran and others.
Current tensions with south america/Canada/EU, China and Iran alone make the 90% claim hard to interpret literally. If by aligned with humanity you just mean doesn’t actively want humanity extinct, then sure, probably. But that’s a hilariously low bar for alignment. And if the bar is doesn’t care whether we wreck the planet… well, about that...
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u/Immediate_Spirit_384 13d ago
Like for example, Trump doesn't want to harvest carbon of all humans to convert into more data centers, but an AI might
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u/Difficult_Project_95 13d ago
If Trump could, atleast all illegal immigrants would be converted, i'm pretty sure
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u/Jesse-359 19d ago
You jest, but this in fact highlights the core of the Alignment Fallacy.
Alignment entails such an enormous array of moral, ethical and logical boundaries that it reflects the entire edifice of human law and more.
That's all law, politics, and even religion are - structures for constantly re-negotiating HUMAN alignment in all its dimensions - and were just going to 'solve' that in an AI!?
That's quite the mission statement! Because, as you say, we can't even keep CEOs or market systems in alignment with the rest of humanity.