One class of ideas which I think is underrated: AI theory used as theory for things other than building autonomous AI/ML systems. Examples:
Using insights/tools from AI theory to improve human reasoning (a popular topic on LW!)
Using insights from subsystem alignment or search theory to design better human institutions
Using tools developed for microscope AI to understand the world-models of bacteria or cancer cells.
Future higher-level programming languages which allow robust programmatic reasoning about abstract real-world objects (while still retaining unambiguous semantics)
One class of ideas which I think is underrated: AI theory used as theory for things other than building autonomous AI/ML systems. Examples:
Using insights/tools from AI theory to improve human reasoning (a popular topic on LW!)
Using insights from subsystem alignment or search theory to design better human institutions
Using tools developed for microscope AI to understand the world-models of bacteria or cancer cells.
Future higher-level programming languages which allow robust programmatic reasoning about abstract real-world objects (while still retaining unambiguous semantics)