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Main Authors: Bales, Adam, D'Alessandro, William, Kirk-Giannini, Cameron Domenico
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.15487
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author Bales, Adam
D'Alessandro, William
Kirk-Giannini, Cameron Domenico
author_facet Bales, Adam
D'Alessandro, William
Kirk-Giannini, Cameron Domenico
contents Recent progress in artificial intelligence (AI) has drawn attention to the technology's transformative potential, including what some see as its prospects for causing large-scale harm. We review two influential arguments purporting to show how AI could pose catastrophic risks. The first argument -- the Problem of Power-Seeking -- claims that, under certain assumptions, advanced AI systems are likely to engage in dangerous power-seeking behavior in pursuit of their goals. We review reasons for thinking that AI systems might seek power, that they might obtain it, that this could lead to catastrophe, and that we might build and deploy such systems anyway. The second argument claims that the development of human-level AI will unlock rapid further progress, culminating in AI systems far more capable than any human -- this is the Singularity Hypothesis. Power-seeking behavior on the part of such systems might be particularly dangerous. We discuss a variety of objections to both arguments and conclude by assessing the state of the debate.
format Preprint
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institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Artificial Intelligence: Arguments for Catastrophic Risk
Bales, Adam
D'Alessandro, William
Kirk-Giannini, Cameron Domenico
Computers and Society
Artificial Intelligence
Recent progress in artificial intelligence (AI) has drawn attention to the technology's transformative potential, including what some see as its prospects for causing large-scale harm. We review two influential arguments purporting to show how AI could pose catastrophic risks. The first argument -- the Problem of Power-Seeking -- claims that, under certain assumptions, advanced AI systems are likely to engage in dangerous power-seeking behavior in pursuit of their goals. We review reasons for thinking that AI systems might seek power, that they might obtain it, that this could lead to catastrophe, and that we might build and deploy such systems anyway. The second argument claims that the development of human-level AI will unlock rapid further progress, culminating in AI systems far more capable than any human -- this is the Singularity Hypothesis. Power-seeking behavior on the part of such systems might be particularly dangerous. We discuss a variety of objections to both arguments and conclude by assessing the state of the debate.
title Artificial Intelligence: Arguments for Catastrophic Risk
topic Computers and Society
Artificial Intelligence
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.15487