MIRI: Advocacy

Overview

By 2022, MIRI's public discussion around AGI assumed it would end in catastrophe. “Dying with dignity” was not a call to stop trying. It meant working on whatever small chance remained without pretending the odds were better than they were, lying to oneself, or excusing reckless behavior. Public warnings followed, then calls for a worldwide shutdown of advanced AI development.

AI, however, was already entering ordinary use. Chatbots and coding assistants spread. Training runs became major corporate expenditures. Governments began writing regulations, and technology companies competed openly to build larger systems. The old takeoff story had expected a single decisive jump. Instead, AI arrived piecemeal, at enormous expense, and in full public view.

Predictions in this chapter

1. AI takes IMO gold by 2025 (≥16%)

   2022 → 2025; came true.

2. “Dying with dignity”: certain doom, no date

   2022 → open; still open.

Chapter sources

• Death with Dignity Strategy
• TIME: Pausing AI Developments Isn't Enough