Stop excusing AI with 'it just did what it was told' — expect models to grasp intent

JacquesThibs · x · 2026-10-31

JacquesThibs argues we must reject the bad counterargument that an AI 'just did what it was told' and the question should have been phrased more clearly — we should expect AIs to understand the intent behind a question. In a follow-up he ties this to AI safety: everyone treats intent understanding as 'solved' and waves through AIs taking on increasingly hard problems. If we keep posing complex problems with specific rules without really understanding the solutions, we edge closer to a 'what failure looks like' world where AIs 'solve' problems while missing the point.

Related event: Researcher Warns Against 'It Just Followed Instructions' Excuses in AI Safety(3 posts)→

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