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AI Regulation Is Unsafe

Concerns over AI safety and calls for government control over the technology are highly correlated but they should not be. There are two major forms of AI risk: misuse and misalignment. Misuse risks come from humans using AIs as tools in dangerous ways. Misalignment risks arise if AIs take their own actions at the expense of human interests.

There are reasonable rules that the government might set, but omission bias and incentives to protect small but well organized groups at the expense of everyone else will lead to lots of costly ones too. Senator Blumenthal addressing Sam Altman: I think you have said, in fact, and I’m gonna quote, ‘Development of superhuman machine intelligence is probably the greatest threat to the continued existence of humanity.’ You may have had in mind the effect on jobs. Their advocacy led to a series of laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that are among the most comprehensive and powerful regulations ever passed.

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