Former Deepmind PR staffer says the lab once banned public discussion of AI extinction risk
Former DeepMind communications staffer Vishal Maini says the lab banned any public discussion of AI extinction risk from 2018 to 2022.
Vishal Maini, who worked on DeepMind's communications and policy team from 2018 to 2022, says external communication about the possibility of human extinction was prohibited at every level of the organization, and researchers were coached to dismiss such risks as alarmism. Internally, the team knew the AI alignment problem was unsolved and understaffed. After months of pushback, positively framed safety content was permitted. His account comes as more AI safety researchers, including some at DeepMind, speak publicly about unsecured models and loss-of-control risks.
- Maini worked at DeepMind's communications and policy team from 2018 to 2022
- Researchers were coached to dismiss extinction risk as Terminator-style alarmism
- Internally the team knew alignment was unsolved and understaffed
- Positively framed safety content was later permitted after internal pushback
From the original article
1 min read at the-decoder.com
A former Google DeepMind spokesperson says talk of AI-driven human extinction was "external communication about the possibility of human extinction was not permitted, by anyone, at any level of the organization." Internally, the team knew AI alignment was not solved, according to Vishal Maini.
By Matthias Bastian · the-decoder.com
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