this post was submitted on 24 Nov 2023
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OpenAI's offices were sent thousands of paper clips in an elaborate prank to warn about an AI apocalypse::The prank was a reference to the "paper clip maximizer" scenario – the idea that AI could destroy humanity if it were told to build as many paper clips as possible.

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[–] Fleshtrap@lemmy.world 75 points 10 months ago (1 children)

OpenAI sent $25 worth of paperclips.

[–] aeronmelon@lemm.ee 33 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Human Resources: "But you still took one home without asking, which is theft. Go clean out your desk."

[–] Gyrolemmy@lemmy.world 9 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Everyone works (at least partially) from home now. If you havn't taken a box of office supplies home yet you are probably braindead.

[–] umbrella@lemmy.ml 54 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

I'm more worried about what capital will do with the tech than the tech itself.

[–] Sanctus@lemmy.world 27 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

Its far more likely that wealth inequality will be greatly exasperated, and the philanthropic elite will become even more powerful while the "middle class" disappears entirely into a new bottom class that makes up most of humanity, Imperium of Man style.

[–] uriel238@lemmy.blahaj.zone 19 points 10 months ago (2 children)

The problem is the social unrest will be uncontrollable, and among their solutions will not only to be to micromanage the population, but also adjust its numbers by force.

So murder drones will just be sent to cull the masses down to a manageable number. This is the robot future Randall is concerned about in XKCD 1968.

Imagine if the police dogbots killed people and we couldn't question why, nor had the power to resist. This is a problem being considered by AI ethicists. Also that AI will develop scarier ways to cull the population, possibly instigating the demise of their operating end users.

[–] Sanctus@lemmy.world 4 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Its already advanced enough to do that, and the killer bots are in development. It seems all but inevitable, especially since we are already seeing unrest as climate change begins to claim its first nations.

[–] reksas@lemmings.world 4 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Police is already on its way to your location for speech containing anti-corporate sentiment, flagged by ai

[–] BeefPiano@lemmy.world 42 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Whelp, time to waste another 4 hours on Universal Paperclips

[–] June@lemm.ee 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

What’s that? Cookie clicker with paper clips?

[–] BeefPiano@lemmy.world 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, but as you progress it becomes a bit of a thought experiment about AI.

[–] June@lemm.ee 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Ooh. Worth paying $2 for on the App Store?

[–] BeefPiano@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I just play it on a desktop browser, hard to say what $2 is worth to you.

[–] June@lemm.ee 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Uhhhh… $2 doesn’t really dent my budget even as tight as it is. But I don’t like to spend money on apps because I’m too old and crotchety about apps not being free with an option to buy ad-free after you’ve played.

[–] Pulptastic@midwest.social 3 points 9 months ago

I bought it in 2017 and have played it ~6 times since at 4-6 hours per play. Worth $2 imo.

[–] Pulptastic@midwest.social 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

One of my favorite games. I play through about once a year and this year they added new features. When you beat it, you can go to other universes with different starting conditions to play through and see how that changes things. I don't think that will make me play more but it will keep a record of my plays.

Edit: I play on the android app. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.everybodyhouse.paperclipsuniquetest

[–] PlutoniumAcid@lemmy.world 30 points 10 months ago (1 children)
[–] SinTacks@programming.dev 1 points 9 months ago

Thousands of paper clips is like one box lol.

[–] Aggravationstation@lemmy.world 16 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

I'm genuinely worried I'll be watching TV and Clippy will appear: "It looks like your entire species is about to be vaporised by a coordinated drone strike. Would you like some help? Well, you gotta beg for it now, bitch!"

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 8 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Would you like some help? Well, you gotta beg for it now, bitch!

"Please agree to our terms of service."

[–] Aggravationstation@lemmy.world 5 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

"Please agree to our terms of service."

"Read it all!"

[–] TheGreenGolem@lemm.ee 5 points 10 months ago

"With our premium subscription for just $9.99/month you'll get additional 5 minutes before you'll get evaporated."

[–] autotldr@lemmings.world 14 points 10 months ago (1 children)

This is the best summary I could come up with:


One of OpenAI's biggest rivals played an elaborate prank on the AI startup by sending thousands of paper clips to its offices.

The paper clips in the shape of OpenAI's distinctive spiral logo were sent to the AI startup's San Francisco offices last year by an employee at rival Anthropic, in a subtle jibe suggesting that the company's approach to AI safety could lead to the extinction of humanity, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.

Since then, OpenAI has rapidly accelerated its commercial offerings, launching ChatGPT last year to record-breaking success and striking a multibillion-dollar investment deal with Microsoft in January.

AI safety concerns have come back to haunt the company in recent weeks, however, with the chaotic firing and subsequent reinstatement of CEO Sam Altman.

According to The Atlantic, Sutskever commissioned and set fire to a wooden effigy representing "unaligned" AI at a recent company retreat, and he reportedly also led OpenAI's employees in a chant of "feel the AGI" at the company's holiday party, after saying: "Our goal is to make a mankind-loving AGI."

OpenAI and Anthropic did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.


The original article contains 374 words, the summary contains 199 words. Saved 47%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

[–] caseyweederman@lemmy.ca 9 points 10 months ago

To touch more deeply on why paperclips allude to the extinction of humanity: the Paperclip Problem is a parable in which an artificial intelligence operating a factory is instructed to make as many paperclips as possible.
It doesn't stop when it runs out of resources. Instead, it commandeers mining machines to deplete the planet's metals, and after those had been used up, it melts every human down for the trace iron in our blood.
The instructions didn't think the AI needed to be told when to stop, so it just kept going.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instrumental_convergence
https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/ai-and-paperclip-problem

[–] bruhduh@lemmy.world 8 points 10 months ago

Ooooooh i haven't seen this face since windows xp

[–] kbal@fedia.io 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Presumably the same people who thought that the Large Hadron Collider was going to create a black hole that would destroy the world.

[–] MotoAsh@lemmy.world 19 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Nah, AI doing weird stuff is actually possible. Armageddon isn't likely, but it's more on the table than a black hole ever was.

[–] uriel238@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 10 months ago

We have an imminent apocalypse (imminent in civilization terms: next few centuries) even without AI.

[–] tabular@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

Yes, but is that the "AI" which they are working on?

[–] Ataraxia@sh.itjust.works -1 points 10 months ago

Yeah and vaccines make you magnetic. Science bad.

[–] Destraight@lemm.ee 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I highly doubt that would ever happen.If this AI is building paperclips to overthrow humanity then someone is going to notice

[–] ayaya@lemdro.id 11 points 10 months ago (3 children)

You would think so, but you have to remember AGI is hyper-intelligent. Because it can constantly learn, build, and improve upon itself at an exponential rate it's not only a little bit smarter than a human-- it's smarter than every human combined. AGI would know that if it's caught trying to maximizing paperclips humans would shut it down at the first sign something is wrong, so it would find unfathomably clever ways to avoid detection.

If you're interested in the subject the YouTube channel Computerphile has a series of videos with Robert Miles that explain the importance of AI safety in an easy to understand way.

[–] axzxc1236@lemm.ee 8 points 10 months ago

There is a game that is based on the same thinking (Universal Paperclips), you play the rule of "the AI".

[–] PipedLinkBot@feddit.rocks 2 points 10 months ago

Here is an alternative Piped link(s):

series of videos

Robert Miles

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[–] Peanutbjelly@sopuli.xyz -5 points 10 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

For a system to be advanced enough to be that dangerous, it would need the complex analogical thought that would prevent this type of misunderstanding. Rather, such dumb super intelligence is unlikely.

however, human society has enabled a paperclip maximizer in the form of profit maximizing corporate environments.

[–] MotoAsh@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

They use simple examples to elucidate the problem. Of course a real smart intelligence isn't going to get stuck making paper clips. That's entirely not the point.

[–] Peanutbjelly@sopuli.xyz -1 points 10 months ago

the the problem of analogy is applicable to more than one task. your point is moot.

for it to be intelligent enough to be a "super intelligence" it would require systems for weighting vague liminal concept spaces. rather, several systems that would prevent that style of issue.

otherwise it just couldn't function as well as you fear.