This is an attempt to formally introduce the concept of value risk (v-risk or VRisk). This is not an attempt at repackaging well known established risk categories like x-risk and s-risk, it’s an attempt to carve out axis of concerns about value choice, hopefully to help increase clarity and weight to what might otherwise sound…
Make the AIs really smart, and ask them what to do. Alignment Challenges It’s hardly a week goes by and there has been some new breakthrough in AI, it’s vaulting in capability to new heights all the time – it’s increasingly hard to deny how critical a role ethics has to play in shaping AI…
In AI safety, direct specification refers to the attempt to program specific goals, rules, or behaviours directly into an AI system. AI trained to optimise values may over-optimise those we specify at the expense of real value we don’t specify. Political or market dynamics incentivise racing to powerful AI – the race dynamics come with…
Singular Learning Theory (SLT) is a novel mathematical framework that expands and improves upon traditional Statistical Learning theory using techniques from algebraic geometry, bayesian statistics, and statistical physics. It has great promise for the mathematical foundations of modern machine learning. Executive director at Timaeus – an AI safety research org working on Developmental Interpretability (also…
Can philosophical zombies be philosophical? Preamble There are various takes on what a p-zombie is, most of which were attempts to dethrone physicalism – this article isn’t one of those. This kind of p-zombie is different from what David Chalmers describes in The Consciousness Mind. In Chalmers view, p-zombies are physiologically identical to humans, even…
This interview was conducted in 2012 in San Francisco. In the future may will see it is not ethically responsible to play genetic roulette and instead take the decision to have happy, healthy, pro-social offspring. 0:00 Introduction0:36 Alleviating Suffering 7:00 Justified Suffering? 13:12 Buddhism 14:42 The World Transhumanist Association 22:35 Recalibration of Society or Biology?…
The principles behind the development of powerful AI carry exceptionally high stakes. This post considers AI alignment, the difficulties of aligning it to human values especially if humans aren’t aligned (inconsistent, in conflict or ethically questionable), and to what degree we should inform alignment efforts from impartial perspectives or the ‘point of view of the…
Below is a video recording of Peter Singer’s talk ‘Animal Liberation Now’ at Melbourne uni in Aug 2023. Few books maintain their relevance – and have remained continuously in print – nearly 50 years after they were first published.Animal Liberation, one of TIME’s “All-TIME 100 Best Non-Fiction Books” is one such book. Since its original…
The concept of digital twins combined with engineering simulation is an exciting framework for professionals working to improve medical devices in biomedicine. A digital twin acts as a virtual representation or digital replica of a physical object, system, processes which can include parts of the human body. Digital twins can be applied to medical devices…
Dr Simon Goldstein is an associate professor at the Dianoia Institute of Philosophy at ACU. In 2023, he is a research fellow at the Center for AI Safety. Simon’s research focuses on AI safety, epistemology, and philosophy of language. Before ACU, Simon was an assistant professor at Lingnan University in Hong Kong. Simon received my…
