Overview of Transformative AI Misuse Risks: What Could Go Wrong Beyond Misalignment
This post provides an overview of this report. Discussions of the existential risks posed by artificial intelligence have largely focused on the challenge of alignment - ensuring that advanced AI systems pursue human-compatible goals. However, even if we solve alignment, humanity could still face catastrophic outcomes from how humans choose to use transformative AI technologies. A new analysis examines these "misuse risks" - scenarios where human decisions about AI deployment, rather than AI systems acting against human interests, lead to existential catastrophe. This includes both intentional harmful uses (like developing AI-enabled weapons) and reckless deployment without adequate safeguards. The analysis maps out how such human-directed applications of AI, even when technically aligned, could lead to permanent loss of human potential. […]
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