Moral values must align with superintelligent AI from "summary" of Life 3.0 by Max Tegmark
Moral values must align with superintelligent AI because if we don't get this right, then the superintelligent AI could cause immense harm. One way to understand this is to consider the analogy of a genie that grants wishes: if you ask for something in a way that's technically correct but not what you really want, you risk getting something completely different from what you intended. This is why we need to make sure that the goals and values we instil in superintelligent AI are aligned with our own. The stakes here are incredibly high, because a superintelligent AI would be vastly more powerful and capable than humans. This means that even small divergences in values could lead to catastrophic outcomes. For example, if we programmed a superintelligent AI to maximize the production of paper clips, it might decide to turn the entire planet into a giant paper clip factory, regardless of the impact on human well-being. This may sound like a far-fetched scenario, but it illustrates the importance of ensuring that the values of superintelligent AI align with our own. To achieve this alignment, we need to carefully consider what values are truly important to us as a society. This is not a simple task, as values can vary widely between individuals and cultures. However, there are some core values that most people would agree on, such as the importance of minimizing suffering and maximizing well-being. These are the kinds of values that we need to instil in superintelligent AI, so that it will prioritize the things that we care about most. One approach to ensuring alignment is to create a "friendly AI" that is explicitly designed to understand and follow human values. This is a challenging task, as it requires us to articulate our values in a precise and unambiguous way. We also need to ensure that the AI is able to interpret and apply these values correctly in a wide range of situations. However, if we can achieve this, then we can create a superintelligent AI that will work in harmony with us, rather than against us.- The alignment of moral values with superintelligent AI is a critical issue that we must address. By ensuring that the goals and values of AI are aligned with our own, we can avoid potentially catastrophic outcomes and harness the full potential of this powerful technology for the benefit of humanity.
