Break it all down
Epistemic note: This essay conflates two related concepts, the tendency of humans to build civilization by exploiting Nature’s rules and the vulnerability of that same civilization to exploits in turn, under one name. I’d like a better name for these two concepts and am open to suggestions. There is a kind of mindset that pays … Read more
To avoid spoilers, skip the first section. Twenty Chapters in Twenty Sentences A boy named Milo feels lost and listless, until one day he opens a mysterious package containing a cardboard tollbooth and a one-sentence note. He drives his toy automobile through and finds himself in another world. He meets a curious dog named Tock, … Read more
You are a wise member of the proud and noble Clan Auran. You bear no love for your ancient enemies in Clan Irgentum, but nonetheless you hope to end the feud, because in your wisdom you know that violence begets only more violence. But you also know that among your family are rash young idealists … Read more
Yesterday I described an experience that impressed upon fifteen-year-old me the importance of speaking with urgency and courage when something awful is happening. I lived a fresh reminder of the importance of courage last week at PauseCon, a first-of-its-kind conference in Washington, DC run by PauseAI US. I was there in a personal capacity, and … Read more
The summer before my freshman year of high school, I attended a science-themed summer camp at the University of Florida. It was a cool week! I stood on top of a nuclear reactor. I accidentally sabotaged a lesson on overfishing and tragedy of the commons by independently reinventing the concept of community governance. (And militias. … Read more
A brief explainer on Claude Mythos Preview. Anthropic, makers of the Claude AI, just announced they aren’t going to release their latest model for now because it is too dangerous. Called “Mythos,” the new model found high-severity vulnerabilities “in every major operating system and web browser.” As New York Times reporter and Hard Fork co-host … Read more
Many people who are paying attention to the trajectory of AI worry about its potential to concentrate power. I think this is a reasonable thing to worry about, with some important caveats. If someone builds a superintelligence, I think they are far more likely to die ignominiously with the rest of us than attain a … Read more
This April 1st, I’m pleased to report that everything is fine. We did it! We saved the world. Congratulations, humanity. There are no more looming apocalypses, no desperate screaming crises, no unendorsedly miserable people on Earth, no creeping degeneration of death and aging existing as a perpetual affront against my values of life and flourishing. … Read more
Our civilization spends trillions of dollars each year on medicine to keep people alive. It seems to work pretty well; we live something like twice as long as our ancestors did, and although those years often face more limits than those of youth, it’s plain that living longer, healthier lives is worth pursuing. I don’t … Read more
In my occasional advising calls with aspiring AI Safety folks, one of the most common questions I get is “What courses should I take next?” I often find myself replying: “None; go do stuff instead.” Fabricando fit faber. By making, one becomes a maker. There are a lot of courses in AI safety and governance. … Read more