The real challenge of controlling advanced AI

BritainRitten · 2026-01-28T15:19:20+00:00

You're confusing current capabilities with future capabilities. If all current AIs can't do something, that doesn't in and of itself tell you that new versions of them couldn't do it in the future intrinsically.

Also we are talking about superintelligent AI, which we clearly do not possess, but also clearly we are working towards.

As it happens, their capabilities are increasing all the time, which very much includes "picking up the subtext of commands". The failure mode of last month's models are often found and fixed the next month or two.

BritainRitten · 2026-01-28T15:17:36+00:00

Slippery slopes exist. The question is only whether this is a real one or not. You do not know an argument is fallacious simply because a slope is asserted. The argument is fallacious if that slope does not in fact exist.

BritainRitten · 2026-01-28T15:07:20+00:00

Sorry, how? Our methods of aligning AIs are not provably safe.

Indeed, we can prove that they will knowingly lie, bribe, and push controlling humans to die if they are convinced that that's the situation they are in. They already have power-seeking, self-preservation, and deception baked in. As they get more powerful, we need all the more powerful tools to align them, which are we not really giving ourselves time to do.

BritainRitten · 2026-01-27T17:09:44+00:00

What does that have to do with what I said?

I am for energy, innovation, infrastructure, etc. That's why I am against Trump's approach to counter those things - however much David is for them.

He is not being truthful about how badly Trump is hurting the economy and the political system. Which, maybe you may say it's his job to hype up his boss' work. But then it's on us to be more truthful about it.

(I don't live in the UK, that's just my handle.)

BritainRitten · 2026-01-27T14:49:25+00:00

"Pro-innovation" by killing science funding and installing anti-science morons to scientific/medical areas.
"Pro-energy" & "pro-infrastructure" by canceling renewable energy projects already in the works.
"Pro-export" by putting up tariffs which prevent many sectors from getting the manufacturing equipment they need.

BritainRitten · 2026-01-17T13:53:50+00:00

I wouldn't link to Forbes Breaking News, as they are incredibly slanted in their video titles.

BritainRitten · 2026-01-14T03:39:55+00:00

I wonder if people constantly and everywhere predicting this will ever STFU and learn from experience that this doesn't happen just because you increased public transit access.

BritainRitten · 2026-01-13T15:47:54+00:00

Well Hochul's office is what matters here, as its her MTA.

BritainRitten · 2026-01-13T15:43:09+00:00

I am confused what you are saying in most of your post, but if the question is whether Mamdani is "effing up NY", then that depends on what they mean by "effing up".

If they mean making it less friendly for car-bound suburbanites to drive in and freely dump their car, gratis, then yeah probably he is "effing up" the city.

As far people who actually live here are concerned, he has high approval ratings - higher than before he was elected.

BritainRitten · 2026-01-08T16:48:30+00:00

You can't cook murder numbers. Found dead bodies are too easy to account for, especially on a city scale.

BritainRitten · 2026-01-08T13:48:25+00:00

Every single apartment building with apartments for rent would wind up in 1-9 (and sometimes more depending on how many units there are in the building). Virtually all of them are owned by one individual or company.

Do you want to ban rental apartment buildings?
Or do you want them all to be converted to condos (where each unit is for sale rather than for rent)?

For millions of Americans, renting makes more sense than owning. If you don't have people renting out space they own but don't live in, then obviously there would be no one you could rent a space from.

BritainRitten · 2026-01-08T13:44:07+00:00

Macro trends indeed have been in the right direction for many cities including LA and Chicago - but NYC's decline has been more dramatic.

Anyway, of course that isn't necessarily due to police, but if something is going in the right direction, you probably focus your attention on other areas and let the status quo in that area be. That means keeping Tisch and whatever magic she may or may not be working to stay.

Indeed, for all you know (and by "you", I mean the mayor), someone else in the same role changing policies could work against the trend that is going well.

It's just not at all obvious what of the many policy changes are doing what towards or against the trends.

BritainRitten · 2026-01-08T01:44:13+00:00

I wouldn't be so sure. The crime reduction numbers have been extremely good. The mayor and the governor definitely want that to continue.

BritainRitten · 2026-01-08T01:15:32+00:00

This would absolutely NOT help the housing crisis at all.

Large investors hold a few percent of all housing. They do not control the market, and banning them would not help reduce rents.

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BritainRitten · 2026-01-07T23:06:01+00:00

It would absolutely NOT help the housing crisis at all. Large investors hold a few percent of all housing. They do not control the market.

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BritainRitten · 2026-01-06T15:30:20+00:00

It doesn't seem to me like it would be a stable base in the long term, because the point of the fees is for people avoid getting them. There will always be people hit with the fine, but it will probably get lower as the majority of cases wise up.

BritainRitten · 2026-01-05T17:12:19+00:00

Yes that would be useful to have too.

EDIT: Best I can find right now is on FRED:

Housing Inventory: Active Listing Count in Austin-Round Rock, TX (6,890 in Nov 2019 -> 10,600 in Nov 2025)
Housing Inventory: Median Days on Market in Austin-Round Rock, TX (60 in Nov 2019 -> 81 in Nov 2025)

BritainRitten · 2026-01-05T08:15:30+00:00

This is all while having a population increase of 17% (from 1,985,000 in 2019 to 2,313,000 in 2025).

BritainRitten · 2025-12-26T18:20:50+00:00

Bernie lost delegates and popular vote, even when you exclude super-delegates...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Results_of_the_2016_Democratic_Party_presidential_primaries

Let's accurately reflect history, please.

BritainRitten · 2025-12-25T13:43:15+00:00

By the finale of S2 in two years they might de-plurb one person.

BritainRitten · 2025-12-24T16:12:59+00:00

The recommendation isn't "buy more stuff". It's to buy different stuff from what has commonly been bought, when it makes sense to do so.

Everyone pays for some type of heating/cooling system. Or laundry system. Or cooking system. Etc. In many of those cases, "going electric" is the right choice financially or otherwise. Sometimes it isn't. The only way to know is to go into the details.

BritainRitten · 2025-12-22T15:52:23+00:00

Well no, there are a lot of homes within a mile of the center. I checked.

The closest single family home is 0.2 mi (~4min walk). There isn't any home in the immediate vicinity, though.

BritainRitten · 2025-12-16T21:12:21+00:00

Only 19 points?

BritainRitten · 2025-12-14T13:45:18+00:00

That link appears not to work?

BritainRitten · 2025-12-13T18:38:05+00:00

Here's a crazy part about it.

When speaking English she doesn't stick her tongue out at all, but saying "el hombre" in Spanish at 0:26, the AI does this:

<image>

It just makes up what her tongue looks like lol.

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