Paper: Silly Rules Help AI Understand Human Normative Systems

ghadfield · x · 2026-08-19

The paper 'Legible Normativity for AI Alignment' explores the value of 'silly rules'—rules with no direct material payoff—in AI alignment. It argues that such rules make normative systems more robust and adaptable to shocks, and increase the legibility of norms. For AI systems to integrate into human normative systems, it is crucial to include representations of these silly rules in their models.

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