AI safety circles clash: would a pre-labs pause have helped alignment research?

austinc3301 · x · 2026-11-09

A debate on X over whether pausing AI now makes sense. austinc3301 argues the case for a pause is much stronger today than before frontier labs existed, citing Scott's point that alignment research (e.g., MIRI) made little progress pre-labs and wouldn't have in 10 more years. ohabryka pushes back: Scott's actual claim is that no plan would have been found in 50 years and delay wouldn't have helped at all. The exchange touches a classic split in the AI safety community over the value of early alignment work and pause timing.

Related event: AI Safety Community Debates Whether Pausing Frontier AI Now Makes Sense(3 posts)→

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