The Technological Singularity

by Murray Shanahan

Perhaps the most obvious approach to the problem of rendering an AI safe is to impose a limit on its physical capabilities, and to ensure that it cannot do anything that would revoke this limit. However, this is easier said than done. Suppose that we tried to limit an AI’s ability to act directly on the world. So the AI isn’t endowed with a robot body, nor is it connected to any physical pieces of equipment or infrastructure. The only way for it to interact with the outside world is through language. Surely the AI would then have no means to accumulate resources or to deploy military force. We would be safe. Unfortunately, this is not true. Human dictators don’t need to act directly on the physical world. Rather, they rely on persuading other people to do their bidding. Not only would a superhuman-level AI be more adept at manipulating human behavior than the most Machiavellian dictator, it would have a great deal more to offer. Indeed, even if the AI were confined to a secure facility with no access to the outside world, we wouldn’t be safe. Before long, those with the power to release it into the wild would likely succumb to its promises and/or threats.