Vitalik Buterin on AI Risk

In his Nov 2023 piece “My techno-optimism”, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin takes a nuanced view on the future of AI.

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I think he gives far too much credit to the AI Risk possibilities, maybe because he takes too seriously the 2022 poll of machine learning researchers who gave Doom a 5-10% chance.

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He calls himself a “d/acc” (defensive accelerationist) who believes we should support AI development but include enough guardrails to allow for rapid response if something goes off the rails.

A d/acc message, one that says “you should build, and build profitable things, but be much more selective and intentional in making sure you are building things that help you and humanity thrive”, may be a winner.

and comparing his philosophy to others, he comes across as attempting to please everybody.

If you are an e/acc, then d/acc is a subspecies of e/acc - just one that is much more selective and intentional.