I recently watched all 7 seasons of HBO’s “Silicon Valley” and the final episode (or really the final 4 episodes leading up into the final one) did a really great job of hitting on some important ideas we talk about in AI safety.
Now, the show in earlier seasons has played with the idea of AI with things like an obvious parody of Ben Goertzel and Sophia, discussion of Roko’s Basilisk, and of course AI that Goodharts. In fact, Goodharting is a pivotal plot point in how the show ends, along with a Petrov-esque ending where hard choices have to be made under uncertainty to protect humanity and it has to be kept a secret due to an information hazard.
Goodhart, Petrov, and information hazards are not mentioned by name in the show, but the topics are clearly present. Given that the show was/is popular with folks in the SF Bay Area tech scene because it does such a good job of mirroring back what it’s like to live in that scene, even if it’s a hyperbolic characterization, I wonder if and hope that this will helpfully nudge folks towards normalizing taking AI safety seriously and seeing it as virtuous to forgo personal gain in exchange for safeguarding humanity.
I don’t expect for things to change dramatically because of the show, but on the margin it might be working to make us a little bit safer. For that reason I think it’s likely a good idea to encourage folks not already dedicated to AI safety to watch the show, so long as the effort involved in minimal.
I recently watched all 7 seasons of HBO’s “Silicon Valley” and the final episode (or really the final 4 episodes leading up into the final one) did a really great job of hitting on some important ideas we talk about in AI safety.
Now, the show in earlier seasons has played with the idea of AI with things like an obvious parody of Ben Goertzel and Sophia, discussion of Roko’s Basilisk, and of course AI that Goodharts. In fact, Goodharting is a pivotal plot point in how the show ends, along with a Petrov-esque ending where hard choices have to be made under uncertainty to protect humanity and it has to be kept a secret due to an information hazard.
Goodhart, Petrov, and information hazards are not mentioned by name in the show, but the topics are clearly present. Given that the show was/is popular with folks in the SF Bay Area tech scene because it does such a good job of mirroring back what it’s like to live in that scene, even if it’s a hyperbolic characterization, I wonder if and hope that this will helpfully nudge folks towards normalizing taking AI safety seriously and seeing it as virtuous to forgo personal gain in exchange for safeguarding humanity.
I don’t expect for things to change dramatically because of the show, but on the margin it might be working to make us a little bit safer. For that reason I think it’s likely a good idea to encourage folks not already dedicated to AI safety to watch the show, so long as the effort involved in minimal.