David Patterson: AI has no inherent survival drive, only the objective you give it
davidpattersonx · x · 2026-09-27
- David Patterson pushes back on the claim that evolutionary effects are a first principle of the universe, applying to everything from software to civilizations.
- Dead matter, software, memes, and civilizations don't desire power, survival, or reproduction — only biological entities do.
- AI optimizes for whatever objective function it is given; you could task it with survival and reproduction, but you'd be legally liable and face public opposition to ceding power to AI.
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