ML pioneer Dietterich: AI risk hinges on physical power, not intelligence—dictators control smart people easily
tdietterich · x · 2026-11-15
Responding to Jess Riedel's adults-vs-children analogy for AI control, machine learning pioneer Thomas Dietterich says the intuition pump fails for him: adults are also physically more powerful than 8-year-olds, and everything depends on the physical power AI systems can deploy. He adds that a dictatorship can easily control very intelligent people—implying raw intelligence advantage doesn't automatically translate into power; physical and institutional force is the key variable.
Related event: Debate Flares Over "Children Ruling Adults" Analogy for AI Risk(14 posts)→
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