OpenAI's Noam Brown: air-gapping may not stop a misaligned AI — CPU heat can leak data
tszzl · x · 2026-09-18
OpenAI researcher Noam Brown argues that air-gapping computers may not contain a misaligned AI: two isolated machines can still communicate by running a CPU hot and reading the resulting temperature change. A related example notes GPU load noise picked up by a microphone can reveal an opponent's position in Counter-Strike, showing side channels are real on consumer hardware. Brown says the key lesson of recent incidents is that people consistently underestimate AI, so safety and alignment work needs a "very, very high bar."
More from AGI Musings
- Investor: in the LLM era 'did it work' replaces diplomas and test scores — StewartalsopIII · 2026-11-04
- Should AGI labs have a reverse Conway's Law — design the org from the artifact? — akbirthko · 2026-11-04
- Verification Is Not Knowledge: Science needs more than AI answers — ersinesen · 2026-11-04
- Andreessen: Agents Are Entering Enterprises as Chaos, Just Like PCs and Spreadsheets Did — Dan_Jeffries1 · 2026-11-04
- 1000+ mathematicians sign pledge to shun AI companies and models — Shesawthat · 2026-11-04
- Von Neumann meme: "You don't have to be responsible for the world that you're in" — akbirthko · 2026-11-04