How a Kind AI Could End Us All (The Paperclip Problem)

Give a super-smart AI one harmless goal: make paperclips. In 2003 the Oxford philosopher Nick Bostrom followed that idea to the end, and the paperclip became one of the most famous warnings about AI. Four levels: the AI isn't evil (Eliezer Yudkowsky's "you're made of atoms"), the wish problem (Stuart Russell's King Midas problem and the robot taxi that gets you there in four minutes), the hidden goals inside every goal (Steve Omohundro's chess robot and "you can't fetch the coffee if you're dead"), and the pull you can feel yourself (Frank Lantz's game Universal Paperclips). Then the twist: humans are already a messy paperclip machine, chasing sugar and clicks. And the fix Russell proposes: machines that aren't sure what we want. Sources Bostrom, N. (2003), "Ethical Issues in Advanced Artificial Intelligence"; Bostrom, N. (2014), Superintelligence, Oxford University Press Yudkowsky, E. (2008), "Artificial Intelligence as a Positive and Negative Factor in Global Risk" Russell, S. (2019), Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control Omohundro, S. (2008), "The Basic AI Drives" Lantz, F. (2017), Universal Paperclips (browser game) This is a thought experiment. The robot taxi is a pretend example; the clicker panel is our recreation of the idea, not the real game. The book cover is a stand-in. Painted scenes are illustrations. Photos (Wikimedia Commons) Nick Bostrom: Future of Humanity Institute, CC BY 4.0 Eliezer Yudkowsky: "null0", CC BY-SA 2.0 Stuart Russell: Bengt Oberger, CC BY-SA 4.0 Steve Omohundro: Pat Chan, CC BY-SA 3.0 Frank Lantz: kevin cancienne, CC BY 2.0 King Midas illustration: Walter Crane (1893), public domain Paperclips: Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0 Chapters 0:00 One harmless goal 0:11 Bostrom's paperclip machine 0:51 A thought experiment 1:06 The game that made you forget to eat 1:27 Level 1: the AI isn't evil 1:51 You and the ants 2:04 A kind AI 2:20 Level 2: the wish problem 2:33 The King Midas problem 2:48 The four-minute taxi ride 3:13 The list never ends 3:33 Level 3: hidden goals 4:10 "You can't fetch the coffee if you're dead" 4:38 Three hidden passengers 4:47 Level 4: Universal Paperclips 5:43 Humans are paperclip machines too 6:22 Feeds that chase clicks 6:38 The fix: a machine that isn't sure