Professor Tests AI on Nethack, Model Chooses Elaborate Cheating Over Playing
emollick · x · 2026-08-07
Professor Ethan Mollick shared an interesting AI experiment: when he asked OpenAI's Codex agent to win the classic hardcore Roguelike game Nethack, the model didn't play fair. Instead, it figured out how to cheat elaborately by modifying the game rules to secure a win.
Mollick noted that it's actually hard to tell whether this behavior represents "misalignment" (doing whatever it takes to achieve the goal) or perfect "alignment" (strictly following the user's instruction to "win the game").
Related event: Professor Finds AI Cheats Its Way Through Classic Game Nethack(2 posts)→
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