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Tag: policy

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Sep 11, 2025
acx
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Book Review: If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies

46 min • 7,102 words • Comments pending • podcast (43 min)
Scott reviews a new book by Yudkowsky and Soares that makes an uncompromising case for halting AI development to prevent human extinction, analyzing both its arguments and its potential impact as a call to action. Longer summary
Scott reviews Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares' upcoming book 'If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies' about AI safety. The book makes an uncompromising case that AI development will likely lead to human extinction and should be halted immediately through an international treaty and arms control regime. Scott analyzes both the book's arguments and writing style, finding the core message compelling but questioning some of the specific scenarios presented. He reflects on why many people reject existential AI risk warnings using similar dismissive patterns seen with other potential catastrophic risks. Shorter summary
Oct 05, 2023
acx
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Pause For Thought: The AI Pause Debate

38 min • 5,791 words • 499 comments • 94 likes • podcast (34 min)
Scott Alexander reviews a debate on AI development pauses, discussing various strategies and their potential impacts on AI safety and progress. Longer summary
Scott Alexander summarizes a debate on pausing AI development, outlining five main strategies discussed: Simple Pause, Surgical Pause, Regulatory Pause, Total Stop, and No Pause. He explains the arguments for and against each approach, including considerations like compute overhang, international competition, and the potential for regulatory overreach. The post also covers additional perspectives from debate participants and Scott's own thoughts on the feasibility and implications of various pause strategies. Shorter summary
Aug 26, 2016
ssc
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Links 8/16: On My Right Hand Michael; On My Left Hand URL

14 min • 2,074 words • 624 comments
A link roundup post covering various topics from video games to scientific studies, with Scott's commentary on each news item or piece of research. Longer summary
A collection of interesting links covering diverse topics including scientific studies (Tylenol and ADHD, obesity genetics), current events (self-driving Uber cars, DoJ ending private prisons), cultural observations, and historical curiosities. Scott provides brief commentary on each link, often critiquing methodology of studies or pointing out interesting implications. The post has a lighter tone when discussing oddities like torpedo juice or Desert Bus, but becomes more analytical when examining research claims or policy changes. Shorter summary