AI safety debate: do compute bounds limit the orthogonality of goals and intelligence?

Algon_33 · x · 2026-09-18

An X debate on the orthogonality thesis: Algon33 argues "true in practice" is imprecise — compute bounds exist, but why couldn't a merely human-level intelligence have wildly different goals, and why isn't the space of efficient goals big enough? jessicata counters that strong orthogonality is a claim about the goals-intelligence relationship and you can't assume infinite intelligence; compute bounds are intrinsic to intelligence, and if maximizing simple goals were easier than complex tractable ones, strong orthogonality could be false.

Related event: Debate Flares Over the Orthogonality Thesis in AI Safety(8 posts)→

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