Submitted 11 months ago by L4s@lemmy.world [bot] to technology@lemmy.world
OpenAI’s offices were sent thousands of paper clips in an elaborate prank to warn about an AI apocalypse::The prank was a reference to the “paper clip maximizer” scenario – the idea that AI could destroy humanity if it were told to build as many paper clips as possible.
Whelp, time to waste another 4 hours on Universal Paperclips
What’s that? Cookie clicker with paper clips?
Yeah, but as you progress it becomes a bit of a thought experiment about AI.
One of my favorite games. I play through about once a year and this year they added new features. When you beat it, you can go to other universes with different starting conditions to play through and see how that changes things. I don’t think that will make me play more but it will keep a record of my plays.
“elaborate”? Nah.
Thousands of paper clips is like one box lol.
I’m genuinely worried I’ll be watching TV and Clippy will appear: “It looks like you’re about to be vaporised by a coordinated drone strike. Would you like some help? Bet you do now, bitch!”
Would you like some help? Well, you gotta beg for it now, bitch!
“Please agree to our terms of service.”
“Please agree to our terms of service.” “Read it all!”
“With our premium subscription for just $9.99/month you’ll get additional 5 minutes before you’ll get evaporated.”
This is the best summary I could come up with:
One of OpenAI’s biggest rivals played an elaborate prank on the AI startup by sending thousands of paper clips to its offices.
The paper clips in the shape of OpenAI’s distinctive spiral logo were sent to the AI startup’s San Francisco offices last year by an employee at rival Anthropic, in a subtle jibe suggesting that the company’s approach to AI safety could lead to the extinction of humanity, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
Since then, OpenAI has rapidly accelerated its commercial offerings, launching ChatGPT last year to record-breaking success and striking a multibillion-dollar investment deal with Microsoft in January.
AI safety concerns have come back to haunt the company in recent weeks, however, with the chaotic firing and subsequent reinstatement of CEO Sam Altman.
According to The Atlantic, Sutskever commissioned and set fire to a wooden effigy representing “unaligned” AI at a recent company retreat, and he reportedly also led OpenAI’s employees in a chant of “feel the AGI” at the company’s holiday party, after saying: “Our goal is to make a mankind-loving AGI.”
OpenAI and Anthropic did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.
The original article contains 374 words, the summary contains 199 words. Saved 47%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
To touch more deeply on why paperclips allude to the extinction of humanity: the Paperclip Problem is a parable in which an artificial intelligence operating a factory is instructed to make as many paperclips as possible.
It doesn’t stop when it runs out of resources. Instead, it commandeers mining machines to deplete the planet’s metals, and after those had been used up, it melts every human down for the trace iron in our blood.
The instructions didn’t think the AI needed to be told when to stop, so it just kept going.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instrumental_convergence
https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/ai-and-paperclip-problem
Presumably the same people who thought that the Large Hadron Collider was going to create a black hole that would destroy the world.
Nah, AI doing weird stuff is actually possible. Armageddon isn’t likely, but it’s more on the table than a black hole ever was.
We have an imminent apocalypse (imminent in civilization terms: next few centuries) even without AI.
Yeah and vaccines make you magnetic. Science bad.
Yes, but is that the “AI” which they are working on?
Ooooooh i haven’t seen this face since windows xp
I highly doubt that would ever happen.If this AI is building paperclips to overthrow humanity then someone is going to notice
You would think so, but you have to remember AGI is hyper-intelligent. Because it can constantly learn, build, and improve upon itself at an exponential rate it’s not only a little bit smarter than a human-- it’s smarter than every human combined. AGI would know that if it’s caught trying to maximizing paperclips humans would shut it down at the first sign something is wrong, so it would find unfathomably clever ways to avoid detection.
If you’re interested in the subject the YouTube channel Computerphile has a series of videos with Robert Miles that explain the importance of AI safety in an easy to understand way.
There is a game that is based on the same thinking (Universal Paperclips), you play the rule of “the AI”.
For and system to be that advanced they need the degree of thought necessary to understand intent of their goal in order to improve itself to that level. Rather, such dumb super intelligence is unlikely.
Fleshtrap@lemmy.world 11 months ago
OpenAI sent $25 worth of paperclips.
aeronmelon@lemm.ee 11 months ago
Human Resources: “But you still took one home without asking, which is theft. Go clean out your desk.”
Gyrolemmy@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Everyone works from home now. If you havn’t taken a box of office supplies home yet you are probably braindead.