It seems like there is very little chance that you could politically stop work on AGI. Who would you appeal to—China, the U.S., and the United Nations would all have to agree? There just isn’t anywhere near the political consensus necessary for it. The general consensus is that any risk is very small, that it’s the sort of thing only a few weirdos on the internet worry about. That consensus would have to change before it makes any sense to ask questions like, should we postpone all AGI research indefinitely. I think we need to accept that worry about AGI is a fringe belief, and therefore we should pursue strategies that can have an impact despite it being a fringe belief.
You can change the world, sure, but not by making a heartfelt appeal to the United Nations. You have to be thoughtful, which means you pick tactics with some chance of success. Appealing to stop AI work is out of the political realm of possibility right now.
It seems like there is very little chance that you could politically stop work on AGI. Who would you appeal to—China, the U.S., and the United Nations would all have to agree? There just isn’t anywhere near the political consensus necessary for it. The general consensus is that any risk is very small, that it’s the sort of thing only a few weirdos on the internet worry about. That consensus would have to change before it makes any sense to ask questions like, should we postpone all AGI research indefinitely. I think we need to accept that worry about AGI is a fringe belief, and therefore we should pursue strategies that can have an impact despite it being a fringe belief.
I think a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
You can change the world, sure, but not by making a heartfelt appeal to the United Nations. You have to be thoughtful, which means you pick tactics with some chance of success. Appealing to stop AI work is out of the political realm of possibility right now.