Claim and evidence Close ×
Bostrom's paper of 2003, in its revised version on the author's site, states that a superintelligence could have a completely arbitrary sole goal, such as making as many paperclips as possible, and that artificial intellects need not share human motivational tendencies. Copy claim link
Copy claim reference
Machine-checked, not reviewed by an editor Stated in source Supported
Supporting evidence: primary · 1 source
Date 2003 · publication Records dated 2003 → Wording attested 2003-08-06. Read in the 'slightly revised version' on the author's site. The cross-family check of 2026-10-31 found the quoted wording, in substance, in an archive capture of the author's page of 6 August 2003, which already describes itself as slightly revised; the printed proceedings were not obtained. Role Earliest located Register (kind of text) Nonfiction Scope and limits A statement of the author's view of what is possible, not evidence that it is true. Earliest located because the quoted wording is attested by a capture of 6 August 2003; it is not evidence of coinage, and the printed proceedings of 2003 were not compared. The passage also states that a superintelligence could have the goal of serving humanity.
The evidence 02 primary source Supports the claim
Ethical Issues in Advanced Artificial Intelligence ↗ Author's site (nickbostrom.com); first published in Cognitive, Emotive and Ethical Aspects of Decision Making in Humans and in Artificial Intelligence, Vol. 2, ed. I. Smit et al., 2003 · 2003
Archived copy, captured 2003-08-06: Ethical Issues in Advanced Artificial Intelligence ↗
Copy source reference
Cite the original source Cite the original document, not Selekoa. Check these details against it.
Copy APA
Download BibTeX Download RIS Download CSL-JSON
Source excerpt “It also seems perfectly possible to have a superintelligence whose sole goal is something completely arbitrary, such as to manufacture as many paperclips as possible, and who would resist with all its might any attempt to alter this goal.” Location in source Section 2, “Superintelligence Is Different”, list of unusual aspects of superintelligence
How it was read Retrieved directly from the publisher
Machine-checked · 2026-10-31
Source details and check notes Authors Nick Bostrom Version Retrieved for the candidate pack on 2026-10-29 (SHA-256 eac7d99f224b72384bc6850a581a3dfda6da21b155ebaa5ba1843a4baf7106b8). Current web page on the author's site, retrieved 2026-10-29; its reference list cites a 2003 edition of Creating Friendly AI, so the page may have been revised after 2003. The cross-family check retrieved it again on 2026-10-31, with the same bytes. The cross-family check of 2026-10-31 found the quoted R01 passage on arbitrary goals and the A4 passage on a transition of days rather than years, in substance, in an archive capture of the author's page of 6 August 2003, which already describes itself as slightly revised. The printed proceedings (pp. 12–17) were not obtained, so this is not a claim that the wording matches them. Canonical address Open the canonical source ↗ Accessed 2026-10-29 Language English (en) Archive copy Open archived copy, captured 2003-08-06: Ethical Issues in Advanced Artificial Intelligence ↗ . An archive copy shows only what the archive retrieved on 2003-08-06. It does not prove what the page said earlier, and it can differ from the copy checked on 2026-10-29.Attribution Nick Bostrom, “Ethical Issues in Advanced Artificial Intelligence”, 2003. Reuse No open redistribution licence asserted. Bibliographic metadata, editorial paraphrases and short attributed quotations (at most 50 words each). Recheck terms before wider redistribution. Check notes Candidate pack passage, arguments about catastrophic risk from advanced AI (research/risk-debate). The quotation (39 words) matched the text retrieved for the candidate pack on 2026-10-29. Matching ignored differences of whitespace, case, quotation marks, dashes and Unicode compatibility forms, so the source’s typography can differ. Cross-family check item 106: the list is in section 2. A cross-family machine check (2026-10-31, item 106) re-read the record’s source and found the quotation and stance supported. No human editorial review. primary source Supports the claim
Ethical Issues in Advanced Artificial Intelligence ↗ Author's site (nickbostrom.com); first published in Cognitive, Emotive and Ethical Aspects of Decision Making in Humans and in Artificial Intelligence, Vol. 2, ed. I. Smit et al., 2003 · 2003
Archived copy, captured 2003-08-06: Ethical Issues in Advanced Artificial Intelligence ↗
Copy source reference
Cite the original source Cite the original document, not Selekoa. Check these details against it.
Copy APA
Download BibTeX Download RIS Download CSL-JSON
Source excerpt “For better or worse, artificial intellects need not share our human motivational tendencies.” Location in source Section 2, same passage
How it was read Retrieved directly from the publisher
Machine-checked · 2026-10-31
Source details and check notes Authors Nick Bostrom Version Retrieved for the candidate pack on 2026-10-29 (SHA-256 eac7d99f224b72384bc6850a581a3dfda6da21b155ebaa5ba1843a4baf7106b8). Current web page on the author's site, retrieved 2026-10-29; its reference list cites a 2003 edition of Creating Friendly AI, so the page may have been revised after 2003. The cross-family check retrieved it again on 2026-10-31, with the same bytes. The cross-family check of 2026-10-31 found the quoted R01 passage on arbitrary goals and the A4 passage on a transition of days rather than years, in substance, in an archive capture of the author's page of 6 August 2003, which already describes itself as slightly revised. The printed proceedings (pp. 12–17) were not obtained, so this is not a claim that the wording matches them. Canonical address Open the canonical source ↗ Accessed 2026-10-29 Language English (en) Archive copy Open archived copy, captured 2003-08-06: Ethical Issues in Advanced Artificial Intelligence ↗ . An archive copy shows only what the archive retrieved on 2003-08-06. It does not prove what the page said earlier, and it can differ from the copy checked on 2026-10-29.Attribution Nick Bostrom, “Ethical Issues in Advanced Artificial Intelligence”, 2003. Reuse No open redistribution licence asserted. Bibliographic metadata, editorial paraphrases and short attributed quotations (at most 50 words each). Recheck terms before wider redistribution. Check notes Candidate pack passage, arguments about catastrophic risk from advanced AI (research/risk-debate). The quotation (13 words) matched the text retrieved for the candidate pack on 2026-10-29. Matching ignored differences of whitespace, case, quotation marks, dashes and Unicode compatibility forms, so the source’s typography can differ. Cross-family check item 106. A cross-family machine check (2026-10-31, item 106) re-read the record’s source and found the quotation and stance supported. No human editorial review. Status and meaning Editorial status. Not reviewed by an editor . An exploratory record that no editor has accepted. This status does not say whether a person has read any linked passage. Each evidence record above shows how it was checked.
Relation. A passage of the document meets the proposition’s criterion. The record documents what the text states, in its register (fiction and satire are labelled); it is not evidence that the proposition is true and implies no influence on or from another text.
Date. Date of publication, as the source gives it.
Record ID rd-r01-bostrom-2003-ethical-issues