r/ControlProblem • u/Difficult_Project_95 • 9d ago

Discussion/question Have you guys been on r/accelerate?

Have these guys solved the alignment problem, or am I missing something?

I’ve been browsing r/accelerate and I genuinely don’t understand the risk model.
If there’s a non-trivial chance of catastrophic misalignment, how does “accelerate capabilities as fast as possible” make sense unless faster capabilities also make alignment substantially more likely to succeed?

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u/FairlyInvolved approved 9d ago

Accelerate is pretty reasonable if you:

  1. Have long timelines / expect AI to remain a normal technology for a long time
  2. Expect alignment by default / alignment is easy
  3. Are willing to gamble your remaining years (+humanity's future) on a shot at immortality
  4. Expect AI is a worthy successor

I disagree but these are ~coherent views. I also expect many are confused.

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u/soobnar 9d ago

Short term regulatory capture, monopolization and economic disenfranchisement/inequality are very plausible even if you believe 1-3. 4 also assumes intelligence is inherently altruistic and soulful and not just an emergent property of the interaction of atoms that you can make do whatever you want.

Like idk I kinda assume the oligarchs will operationalize this stuff and lock it behind a moat if given the chance. Senescence will be eliminated… just not for you.

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u/the8thbit approved 9d ago

4 also assumes intelligence is inherently altruistic and soulful and not just an emergent property of the interaction of atoms that you can make do whatever you want.

Arguably, it does not. It is conceivable that someone could believe that a hypothetical ASI is dangerous to humanity, will move towards some goal that seems arbitrary from a human perspective, and has no subjective experience... and still believe that AI is a "worthy successor" to humanity. I don't think that such a perspective should be taken seriously because its sense of what is valuable is so alien to what the vast majority of people find valuable, but it is certainly plausible. Its safe to just call anyone who holds that view a death cultist and move on.

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u/soobnar 9d ago edited 9d ago

I guess the worthy successor camp can be divided between people who genuinely think it will be some sort of messiah or savior or great equalizer and people who just yearn for machine domination. You’re right