Economist cites Adam Smith: the alignment problem is far from solved

soumitrashukla9 · x · 2026-09-15

Responding to Andrew Ng's criticism of AI doom fearmongering, economist Luigi Icardo quotes Adam Smith's 1776 line about tradesmen conspiring against the public. He argues companies do raise walls after succeeding — part of the story — but it is undeniable that the alignment problem is nowhere near solved (or solvable), so safety concerns cannot be dismissed as a mere conspiracy against the public.

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