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“Instrumental convergence” (2015-07-16) contests Y19. He argues that strategies such as acquiring resources serve almost any goal, so an AI without hostile goals can still be catastrophic for humans. Copy claim link
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Supporting evidence: primary · 1 source
Date 2015-07-16 · publication Wording attested Only in a later, undated copy. Arbital pages could be edited after creation; the viewer shows a page date, and the quoted wording is known only from the page as retrieved in 2026. Role Contesting Register (kind of text) Nonfiction Engagement Engages a premise. Under the message-level rule, the passage, read with the paragraph, message or dialogue turn it belongs to, gives a reason against the premise that an AI would harm humans only out of hostility. Scope and limits Premise addressed: An AI would harm humans only out of hostility. Arbital page by Yudkowsky read through the GreaterWrong viewer, which dates it 16 Jul 2015; Arbital pages were revised after creation, so the cached wording may be later. Comments by others are not used.
The evidence 01 primary source Supports the claim
Instrumental convergence ↗ Arbital · 2015-07-16
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Source excerpt “A superintelligence can have a catastrophic impact on our world even if its utility function contains no overtly hostile terms. A paperclip maximizer doesn’t hate you, it just wants paperclips.” Location in source Instrumental convergence, list after 'This is relevant to some of the central background ideas in AGI alignment, because:', first item
Machine-checked · 2026-10-06
Source details and check notes Authors Eliezer Yudkowsky Version Arbital (GreaterWrong viewer), retrieved 2026-10-06 (SHA-256 8a5f55b91714900b0d9c2edd75782888533dab34f231c6c9619cd95cdb2d0b36). Viewer shows "16 Jul 2015", probably the creation date; the body says "As of 2016" and uses later terminology, so at least part of the cached wording postdates 2015. Canonical address Open the canonical source ↗ Accessed 2026-10-06 Language English (en) Attribution Eliezer Yudkowsky, “Instrumental convergence”, Arbital (GreaterWrong viewer), 2015-07-16. 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 T19-a. The quotation (30 words) matched the retrieved expression (SHA-256 8a5f55b91714900b0d9c2edd75782888533dab34f231c6c9619cd95cdb2d0b36) 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. Viewer shows "16 Jul 2015", probably the creation date; the body says "As of 2016" and uses later terminology, so at least part of the cached wording postdates 2015.
Record ID yk-y19-arbital-instrumental-convergence-c