Is there actually a version of the Golem tale where AI-risk is a theme? I had a look once and I couldn’t actually find a version where the Golem fastidiously follows its instructions beyond their intended meaning. Perhaps people are just confusing it with The Sorcerer’s Apprentice?
Until I actually looked into this so was I. In my case I think it’s Terry Pratchett’s fault. In Feet of Clay he describes Golems as being prone to continue with tasks forever unless told to stop.
Let us call this precise, instruction-following genie a Golem Genie. (A golem is a
creature from Jewish folklore that would in some stories do exactly as told [Idel 1990],
often with unintended consequences, for example polishing a dish until it is as thin as
paper [Pratchett 1996].)
(The “Idel” reference goes to Idel, Moshe. 1990. Golem: Jewish Magical and Mystical Traditions on the Artificial Anthropoid. SUNY Series
in Judaica. Albany: State University of New York Press.)
Is there actually a version of the Golem tale where AI-risk is a theme? I had a look once and I couldn’t actually find a version where the Golem fastidiously follows its instructions beyond their intended meaning. Perhaps people are just confusing it with The Sorcerer’s Apprentice?
Quite possibly; in which case I would also belong to the set of confused people.
Until I actually looked into this so was I. In my case I think it’s Terry Pratchett’s fault. In Feet of Clay he describes Golems as being prone to continue with tasks forever unless told to stop.
From the MIRI paper “Intelligence Explosion and Machine Ethics”:
(The “Idel” reference goes to Idel, Moshe. 1990. Golem: Jewish Magical and Mystical Traditions on the Artificial Anthropoid. SUNY Series in Judaica. Albany: State University of New York Press.)