Safety factors predate bridge disasters by a century — AI safety analogy corrected
davidmanheim · x · 2026-11-08
- Responding to the claim that "engineers only started using safety factors after too many bridges collapsed," davidmanheim corrects the record: safety factors were introduced well over a century before UK bridge engineers adopted them, following the Tay Bridge disaster.
- The counterpoint argues AI is just another engineering discipline where we learn as we go — consequences can be big, as they were with nuclear. The thread captures a real disagreement over whether AI safety should follow traditional engineering's risk-management playbook.
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