To paraphrase Von Neumann, sometimes we confess to a selfish motive that we may not be suspected of an unselfish one, or to one sin to avoid being accused of another.
[Of] the splendid technical work of the [atomic] bomb there can be no question. I can see no evidence of a similar high quality of work in policy-making which...accompanied this...Behind all this I sensed the desires of the gadgeteer to see the wheels go round.
To paraphrase Von Neumann, sometimes we confess to a selfish motive that we may not be suspected of an unselfish one, or to one sin to avoid being accused of another.
(“as any number of conversations in the [OpenAI] office café will confirm, the “build AGI” bit of the mission seems to offer up more raw excitement to its researchers than the “make it safe” bit.”)