Emmett Shear is the cofounder and ex-CEO of Twitch, ex-interim-CEO of OpenAI, and a former Y Combinator partner. He recently announced Softmax, a new company researching a novel solution to AI alignment.
In his recent interview, Emmett explained “organic alignment”, drawing comparisons to biological systems and advocating for AI to be raised in a community-like setting with humans.
Let’s go through his talk, point by point, to see if Emmett’s alignment plan makes sense…
00:00 Episode Highlights
00:36 Introducing Softmax and its Founders
01:33 Research Collaborators and Ken Stanley's Influence
02:16 Softmax's Mission and Organic Alignment
03:13 Critique of Organic Alignment
05:29 Emmett’s Perspective on AI Alignment
14:36 Human Morality and Cognitive Submodules
38:25 Top-Down vs. Emergent Morality in AI
44:56 Raising AI to Grow Up with Humanity
48:43 Softmax's Incremental Approach to AI Alignment
52:22 Convergence vs. Divergence in AI Learning
55:49 Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning
01:12:28 The Importance of Storytelling in AI Development
01:16:34 Living With AI As It Grows
01:20:19 Species Giving Birth to Species
01:23:23 The Plan for AI's Adolescence
01:26:53 Emmett's Views on Superintelligence
01:31:00 The Future of AI Alignment
01:35:10 Final Thoughts and Criticisms
01:44:07 Conclusion and Call to Action
Show Notes
Emmett Shear’s interview on BuzzRobot with Sophia Aryan (source material) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3m2cpZqvdw
BuzzRobot’s YouTube channel — https://www.youtube.com/@BuzzRobot
BuzzRobot’s Twitter — https://x.com/buZZrobot/
SoftMax’s website — https://softmax.com
My Doom Debate with Ken Stanley (Softmax advisor) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdthPZwU1Co
My Doom Debate with Gil Mark on whether aligning AIs in groups is a more solvable problem — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72LnKW_jae8
Watch the Lethal Intelligence Guide, the ultimate introduction to AI x-risk!
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