The Terrifying Problem Of AI Control - Stuart Russell | Modern Wisdom Podcast 364

Stuart Russell is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of California and an author. Programming machines to do what we want them to is a challenge. The consequences of getting this wrong become very grave if that machine is superintelligent with essentially limitless resources and no regard for humanity's wellbeing. Stuart literally wrote the textbook on Artificial Intelligence which is now used in hundreds of countries, so hopefully he's got an answer to perhaps the most important question of this century. Expect to learn how artificial intelligence systems have already manipulated your preferences to make you more predictable, why social media companies genuinely don't know what their own algorithms are doing, why our reliance on machines can be a weakness, Stuart's better solution for giving machines goals, what the future of artificial intelligence holds and much more... Sponsors: Get 20% discount on the highest quality CBD Products from Pure Sport at https://puresportcbd.com/modernwisdom (use code: MW20) Get perfect teeth 70% cheaper than other invisible aligners from DW Aligners at http://dwaligners.co.uk/modernwisdom Extra Stuff: Buy Human Compatible - https://amzn.to/3jh2lX5 Get my free Reading List of 100 books to read before you die → https://chriswillx.com/books/ To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom #artificialintelligence #controlproblem #computerscience - 00:00 Intro 00:33 King Midas & AI 06:07 Super-intelligent AI 11:48 Language Challenges 21:42 How AI Could Go Wrong 46:17 Social Media Algorithms 1:03:14 Becoming Enfeebled by Machines 1:20:44 Maintaining Control of AI Growth 1:42:23 Impacts of Stuart’s Work 1:48:01 Where to Find Stuart - Listen to all episodes online. Search "Modern Wisdom" on any Podcast App or click here: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2MNqIgw Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/modern-wisdom - Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/

Stuart RussellguestChris Williamsonhost

Aug 28, 20211h 49mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: August 28, 2021
Duration: 1h 49m
Channel: Modern Wisdom
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Stuart Russell is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of California and an author. Programming machines to do what we want them to is a challenge. The consequences of getting this wrong become very grave if that machine is superintelligent with essentially limitless resources and no regard for humanity's wellbeing. Stuart literally wrote the textbook on Artificial Intelligence which is now used in hundreds of countries, so hopefully he's got an answer to perhaps the most important question of this century. Expect to learn how artificial intelligence systems have already manipulated your preferences to make you more predictable, why social media companies genuinely don't know what their own algorithms are doing, why our reliance on machines can be a weakness, Stuart's better solution for giving machines goals, what the future of artificial intelligence holds and much more... Sponsors: Get 20% discount on the highest quality CBD Products from Pure Sport at https://puresportcbd.com/modernwisdom (use code: MW20) Get perfect teeth 70% cheaper than other invisible aligners from DW Aligners at http://dwaligners.co.uk/modernwisdom Extra Stuff: Buy Human Compatible - https://amzn.to/3jh2lX5 Get my free Reading List of 100 books to read before you die → https://chriswillx.com/books/ To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom #artificialintelligence #controlproblem #computerscience - 00:00 Intro 00:33 King Midas & AI 06:07 Super-intelligent AI 11:48 Language Challenges 21:42 How AI Could Go Wrong 46:17 Social Media Algorithms 1:03:14 Becoming Enfeebled by Machines 1:20:44 Maintaining Control of AI Growth 1:42:23 Impacts of Stuart’s Work 1:48:01 Where to Find Stuart - Listen to all episodes online. Search "Modern Wisdom" on any Podcast App or click here: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2MNqIgw Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/modern-wisdom - Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/

SPEAKERS

Stuart Russell
guest
Chris Williamson
host

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Modern Wisdom, featuring Stuart Russell and Chris Williamson, The Terrifying Problem Of AI Control - Stuart Russell | Modern Wisdom Podcast 364 explores stuart Russell Warns: Misaligned Superintelligent AI Could End Civilization Stuart Russell explains that the dominant way we build AI—giving systems fixed, explicit objectives and asking them to optimize—almost guarantees dangerous misalignment at scale, akin to the King Midas problem. Once highly capable systems pursue slightly wrong goals, their power and speed make their mistakes catastrophic and potentially irreversible. He argues for a new paradigm: AI that explicitly knows it does not fully know human objectives, behaves cautiously, asks permission, and allows itself to be shut down. Along the way, he critiques current deep learning and language models, dissects social-media recommendation systems as early misaligned AIs already manipulating human preferences, and explores the philosophical and societal challenges of keeping humanity both safe and non‑enfeebled in an AI-driven future.

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