(2023-04-05) ZviM Eliezer Yudkowsky's Letter In Time Magazine

Zvi Mowshowitz: On Eliezer Yudkowsky's Letter in Time Magazine. FLI put out an open letter, calling for a 6 month pause in training models more powerful than GPT-4, followed by additional precautionary steps. (2023-03-30-ZvimOnTheFliAiriskOpenLetter)

Then Eliezer Yudkowsky put out a post in Time, which made it clear he did not think that letter went far enough. Eliezer instead suggests an international ban on large AI training runs to limit future capabilities advances. He lays out in stark terms our choice as he sees it: Either do what it takes to prevent such runs or face doom.
A lot of good discussions happened.

If you have not yet read the post itself, I encourage you to read the whole thing, now, before proceeding. I will summarize my reading in the next section, then discuss reactions.

This post goes over:

• What the Letter Actually Says. Check if your interpretation matches.
• The Internet Mostly Sidesteps the Important Questions. Many did not take kindly.
• What is a Call for Violence? Political power comes from the barrel of a gun.
• Our Words Are Backed by Nuclear Weapons. Eliezer did not propose using nukes.
• Answering Hypothetical Questions. If he doesn’t he loses all his magic powers.
• What Do I Think About Yudkowsky’s Model of AI Risk? I am less confident.
• What Do I Think About Eliezer’s Proposal? Depends what you believe about risk.