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Existential risk from artificial intelligence

  • Human CompatibleStuart J. Russell published Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control in 2019. The book opens by attacking a core assumption in…
  • Instrumental convergenceIn 2003, Swedish philosopher Nick Bostrom published a paper that introduced the concept of instrumental convergence to the field of artificial intelligence.
  • AI alignmentNorbert Wiener spoke in 1960 about the danger of using mechanical agencies whose operation humans could not effectively control.
  • AI safetyIn 1988, Blay Whitby published a book outlining the need for AI to be developed along ethical and socially responsible lines.
  • Existential risk from artificial intelligenceThe idea that artificial intelligence could cause human extinction or an irreversible global catastrophe is known as AI x-risk.
  • AI takeoverIn 1980, the global artificial intelligence industry was worth a few million dollars. By 1988, that figure had surged to billions of dollars in just eight…
  • Technological singularityStanislaw Ulam recalled a conversation with John von Neumann in 1958 about the ever accelerating progress of technology.
  • TranshumanismThe Epic of Gilgamesh contains one of humanity's oldest recorded quests for immortality. This ancient narrative established a pattern that transhumanists…
  • SuperintelligencePhilosopher Nick Bostrom once wrote that a superintelligence is any intellect that greatly exceeds the cognitive performance of humans in virtually all…
  • The Alignment ProblemIn 2016, journalist Julia Angwin published a report that changed how people viewed automated decision-making. Her investigation into the COMPAS algorithm…
  • AnthropicIn 2021, seven former employees of OpenAI gathered in San Francisco to establish a new artificial intelligence company. Among them were siblings Daniela…
  • Regulation of artificial intelligenceSince 2016, the number of countries introducing AI-related laws has risen sharply. Stanford University's 2025 AI Index reports a ninefold increase in…