Scott Aaronson Concedes Yudkowsky Was Right About AI as Civilization's Biggest Challenge
FlorianGallwitz · x · 2026-09-16
Computer scientist Scott Aaronson writes a rare concession in his blog post The Age of Wonders and Terrors: "Eliezer Yudkowsky was right about what the greatest challenge facing civilization in our lifetimes was going to be, and you and I were wrong."
- Twenty years ago, skeptics said panic only when AI escapes containment, conspires to hack, or solves Millennium Problems
- Aaronson argues those prophecies have come true: starting with AlphaGo, accelerating through LLMs and coding/reasoning agents, reaching a "crescendo of wonders and terrors" this summer and fall
- He criticizes goalpost-moving skeptics who grant each impossible feat after it happens
- A landmark shift from a longtime AI skeptic
More from AGI Musings
- The first AI answer is the most dangerous: fluent output kills critical thinking — DrKavner · 2026-09-16
- "Slop Grenades": AI Laziness Now Ships Liability to Colleagues Instead of Just Doing Less — sebpaquet · 2026-09-16
- AI is the new Excel macro: consultants will inherit fleets of inscrutable vibe-coded systems — id-ltd · 2026-09-16
- Taylor Lorenz defends EA's animal welfare stance, mocks its sci-fi doomerism — nptacek · 2026-09-16
- AI slowdown won't last: a DeepSeek-style breakthrough could restart the race within months — paulnovosad · 2026-09-16
- AI Safety Drama: Ed Zitron Slams Researcher for Exaggerating LLM Risks, Jesse Singal Hits Back — trevposts · 2026-09-16