Revisiting the Orthogonality Thesis: AIs Won't Be 'More Moral' Unless Designed To Be

jd_pressman · x · 2026-10-08

AI researcher Jd Pressman argues the core of the orthogonality thesis still holds: AIs will not become 'more moral' in ways we recognize or want what we want unless specifically designed to.

However, he pushes back on the original framing: the space of practically possible minds likely isn't as wide as EY suggested in The Sequences; goal space is probably wide, but most human goals are instrumental goals—which actually cuts against orthogonality.

Related event: Debate Reignites Over Orthogonality Thesis in AI Alignment(3 posts)→

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