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“Coherent Extrapolated Volition” (2004-05) contests Y02. Looking back from 2004, he describes as a blunder his teenage belief that building a powerful self-improving optimizer would suffice for a good outcome, which he says it took him until about age twenty to recognise as a problem. Copy claim link
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Supporting evidence: primary · 1 source
Date 2004-05 · publication Wording attested Only in a later, undated copy. Known only from MIRI's later, undated PDF reprint of the May 2004 document; the wording was not compared with a 2004 copy. Role Contesting Register (kind of text) Nonfiction Engagement States the contrary. Under the message-level rule, the passage states the contrary conclusion without giving a reason against the premise that a sufficiently intelligent mind would discover a true or universally compelling morality and be bound to act on it, even when read with its message or dialogue turn. Looking back Reports a belief he says he held from the age of sixteen until he recognised it as a problem at about twenty. The record is dated by the report. Scope and limits Premise addressed: A sufficiently intelligent mind would discover a true or universally compelling morality and be bound to act on it. The sentence begins 'Once upon a time, back at the age of sixteen,'. Text is a later MIRI reprint of the May 2004 document; reprint wording not compared with a 2004 capture. The same paragraph adds that he 'never thought I had the wisdom or authority to lay down Ten Commandments'.
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Coherent Extrapolated Volition ↗ Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence · 2004-05
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Source excerpt “I made one hell of a huge philosophical blunder about how morality worked, which caused me to think that to create a Friendly AI I just needed to create a really powerful self-improving optimization process and wave it cheerily on its way.” Location in source Coherent Extrapolated Volition, 4.1 Motivations, under 'Humankind should not spend the rest of eternity desperately wishing that the programmers had done something differently', paragraph beginning 'But most who ponder AI morality'
Machine-checked · 2026-10-06
Source details and check notes Authors Eliezer Yudkowsky Version Singularity Institute, MIRI reprint, retrieved 2026-10-06 (SHA-256 11b2d4bc7d64dc01503d1ab56ff3e985bfcaeed90235aad2c5ec16244b216685). Text states "The information is current as of May 2004"; reprint citation gives 2004. Canonical address Open the canonical source ↗ Accessed 2026-10-06 Language English (en) Attribution Eliezer Yudkowsky, “Coherent Extrapolated Volition”, Singularity Institute, MIRI reprint, 2004-05. 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 T02-d. The quotation (42 words) matched the retrieved expression (SHA-256 11b2d4bc7d64dc01503d1ab56ff3e985bfcaeed90235aad2c5ec16244b216685) when checked on 2026-10-06. 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 disputes the proposition or a premise it depends on. The record documents the text’s position, not who is right.
Date. Text states "The information is current as of May 2004"; reprint citation gives 2004. Precision: month.
Record ID yk-y02-coherent-extrapolated-volition-2004-c