LessWrong (Curated & Popular) “If Anyone Builds It Everyone Dies, a semi-outsider review” by dvd
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Oct 14, 2025 A semi-outsider critiques AI risk theories, questioning why we assume AI will want to survive or possess coherent drives. He challenges the book’s analogy of evolution, suggesting it might lack explanatory power. The discussion includes concerns about the potential for intermediate phases in AI's development and critiques a proposed international treaty to manage AI risks, comparing it to historical failures. Ultimately, there's an evaluation of the book's readability alongside its shortcomings in factual detail and insight.
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Recklessness, Not Malice, Feels Plausible
- The narrator moved from skepticism to being unsettled about existential AI risk after reading the book but remained unconvinced.
- He found the argument persuasive that recklessness, not malice, could create catastrophic AI.
Unpredictable Drives Plus Capability Is Dangerous
- The book's core claim: unpredictable emergent AI drives plus superhuman capability could lead to human extinction.
- Authors urge preventing powerful AI before it crosses an unknowable threshold.
Prevent Powerful AI Before Irreversibility
- The authors' prescription is to prevent powerful AI now rather than test alignment later.
- They call for stopping AI development before systems become irreversible threats.