Scott Alexander's open letter to Steven Pinker sparks AI debate fracas, drawing Melanie Mitchell in
MelMitchell1 · x · 2026-10-07
Scott Alexander published "An Open Letter to Steven Pinker on AI" on Astral Codex Ten, recounting the chaos after he challenged Pinker to a public debate on AI: podcasters, debating societies and influencers swarmed his inbox offering to host, verging on harassment.
Pinker replied that confrontational debates aren't truth-seeking, denied making personal attacks, framed his main contribution as reasonable arguments for why AI might not be so dangerous, and invited Alexander to respond in kind. Alexander addresses those arguments in the letter. AI researcher Melanie Mitchell quipped about being insulted by Alexander, guessing he hasn't read her work since the 1980s.
Related event: Scott Alexander's Open Letter to Pinker Sparks Multi-Front AI Risk Debate(12 posts)→
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