RickG pushes back on orthogonality: any goal is entangled with general capabilities
__RickG__ · x · 2026-10-22
In a debate with repligate over whether LLMs can be stably trained into specific personas/goals, RickG argues that while he understands the orthogonality thesis, "being selected for" doesn't mean things couldn't be otherwise — any target is by definition entangled with general capabilities, and many traits are also shaped by economic selection pressure. The exchange touches a core alignment debate over whether goals and capabilities are separable.
Related event: Researchers debate whether intelligence and goals can be decoupled in LLMs(4 posts)→