Why Would an AI Want to Take Over the World?

A hacker's threat model meets a philosopher's skepticism. I'll make the strongest case that AI takes over, then the strongest case that it doesn't, and then tell you where I land and why.

First, fix the question

"Why would AI want to take over the world?" smuggles in two assumptions: that AI wants things the way we do, and that "taking over" looks like a movie. Both deserve suspicion.

Hackers don't ask "is the system evil?" They ask "what does the system optimize for, and what happens at the edges?" Philosophers don't ask "will it be hostile?" They ask "what do you even mean by want?"

So let's rephrase: under what conditions would a capable system end up acquiring power over human affairs, intended or not? That question can be argued in both directions.

The case FOR

1. Almost any goal is helped by more power.This is the...

Copyright of this story solely belongs to hackernoon.com. To see the full text click HERE