Noam Brown: air-gapping may not stop misaligned AI; Grady Booch mocks the claim

GaryMarcus · x · 2026-09-18

OpenAI's Noam Brown argued that air-gapping computers may not contain a misaligned AI, since two air-gapped machines can communicate by running a CPU hot and reading temperature changes. He said the key lesson is that people consistently underestimate AI, so safety and alignment need a very high bar. Software legend Grady Booch ridiculed the idea — comparing it to all oxygen atoms migrating to a corner — accusing Brown of wasting time on foolish things instead of confronting hard problems; Gary Marcus amplified the critique.

Related event: OpenAI's Noam Brown: Air-Gapping May Not Stop a Rogue AI, Sparking Technical Debate(9 posts)→

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