New LessWrong Essay 'The Obliqueness Thesis' Reopens The Orthogonality Debate In AI Alignment
jessi_cata · x · 2026-09-18
A substantive alignment-theory debate around a new LessWrong essay, "The Obliqueness Thesis." Jessi Cata argues that the interlocutor is misreading the negation of orthogonality: strong orthogonality makes a strong, specific claim about how goals relate to intelligence — not that only one goal is possible — and refuting it requires articulating what that specific negation would actually be. The exchange reopens the classic question of whether arbitrary intelligence can combine with arbitrary goals.
Related event: Debate Flares Over the Orthogonality Thesis in AI Safety(8 posts)→
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