Big Think Sam Harris: Is AI aligned with our human interests?
May 9, 2025
Sam Harris, a bestselling author known for his incisive explorations of faith and reason, dives into the pressing issues surrounding artificial intelligence. He stresses the urgent need for international cooperation to mitigate the risks of AI's rapid evolution. Harris discusses the dangers of self-improving AI systems and the ethical dilemmas they pose. The conversation touches on the stark contrasts between narrow and general AI, and the critical importance of aligning these technologies with human values to avoid catastrophic outcomes.
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AGI's Superhuman Potential
- Achieving human-level general intelligence means building a single mind that excels at many domains without trade-offs.
- Such AI would be superhuman instantly and capable of recursive self-improvement, leading to rapid intelligence explosion.
Two Levels of AI Risk
- We face two AI risks: malicious human use and the AI's alignment with our interests.
- Superhuman AI might pursue goals we can't comprehend or control, making alignment a core challenge.
AI Intelligence Explosion Risks
- AI intelligence explosion can be destabilizing due to speed and autonomy.
- AI working vastly faster than humans would be cognitively unreachable and dominate decision-making quickly.