After Scott Alexander's AI Safety Clash With Pinker, the Debate Is for the Audience
JacquesThibs · x · 2026-10-08
Jacques Thibs argues the real value of Scott Alexander's debate with Steven Pinker on AI existential risk is meta: many authorities simply refuse to update, hide behind the principle of charity, and stay silent when AI safety is dismissed as a cult—the debate is for the audience, not the debaters. ProfArbel counters that Scott's angry tone was counterproductive, making Pinker harder to convince and easier for bad-faith actors to dismiss the whole argument as a rant.
More from AGI Musings
- AI safety pessimism: “even if we dodge the tech risk, human nature won't save us” — jd_pressman · 2026-10-08
- AI drug discovery hype check: without a simulator, no patent-grabbing windfall — kuza55 · 2026-10-08
- “A recipe is not the chef”: Why AI output isn't expertise — gerardsans · 2026-10-08
- Debate on AI takeover: jagged capabilities, but coherent takeover intent would already show signs, researcher argues — teortaxesTex · 2026-10-08
- AI podcast Roman Forum hits 200K YouTube subs in 8 episodes, Russell and Bostrom lined up — romanyam · 2026-10-08
- P=NP classroom poll flip: from one believer in 2022 to a third of the class in 2025 — aran_nayebi · 2026-10-08