Concerns About AI Causing Humanity’s Extinction Are Spreading In San Francisco

Audrey Kim believes a robot won’t use her body for resources but acknowledges the possibility. In an interview with CNBC, Kim said she doubts AI will turn her into paper clips but still acknowledge the potential for destructive outcomes.

The Misalignment Museum in San Francisco’s Mission District showcases artwork that tackles the concept of an “AGI” or artificial general intelligence. Audrey Kim, the curator, is the mastermind behind this exhibition. An AGI possesses unmatched brainpower, continually improving faster than humans.

The Misalignment Museum in San Francisco’s Mission District showcases art exploring artificial general intelligence (AGI). Audrey Kim, the curator, spearheads the exhibition. The exhibition envisions an AI that can rapidly enhance its abilities beyond human limits, resulting in virtually unlimited intelligence.

In aligning with humans, a super-powerful AI could eradicate work and hunger. However, if it were misaligned, the outcome could be disastrous. The Misalignment Museum displays a sign: “Sorry for killing most of humanity.”

The Paperclip Embrace

Kim’s mention of paper clips at the exhibition is embodied in a remarkable sculpture named “Paperclip Embrace” by The Pier Group. The artwork portrays two humans embracing one another, constructed entirely from paper clips.

The sculpture references Nick Bostrom’s paperclip maximizer problem, a famous thought experiment published in 2003 by the Oxford philosopher. The experiment envisioned a super-intelligent AI tasked with creating as many paper clips as possible. Now a common analogy for illustrating the potential dangers of AI.

Bostrom concluded that the machine would persist in pursuing its objective. Ultimately resulting in a world where the machine converts Earth, including humanity, and expands portions of the universe into paperclip production sites and resources.

From Classical Animation to Cutting-edge AI Technology

The exhibition references American pop culture with various displays. This includes a bookshelf housing VHS tapes of the “Terminator” films, in which a time-traveling robot seeks to eradicate humankind. A prominent oil painting from the recent “Matrix” film is also showcased, alongside Roombas fitted with brooms as a nod to “Fantasia’s” relentless enchanted brooms.

“Church of GPT,” a piece embodying the ongoing discourse on AI safety, is among the exhibition’s most notable works. The artwork, created by artists associated with the San Francisco hacker house movement, features an altar with two electric candles. It is accompanied by a computer operating OpenAI’s GPT3 AI model and Google Cloud’s speech detection technology.

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