AI is probably the biggest prisoner’s dilemma we’ve ever created. Everyone knows slowing down might be safer. But if OpenAI slows down and Anthropic doesn’t, OpenAI loses. If the US slows down and China doesn’t, the US loses. So nobody slows down.
That’s what makes this so insane. You don’t need some evil person trying to destroy the world. You just need a bunch of people making the rational decision for themselves over and over until collectively we’ve raced somewhere none of us actually wanted to go.
It’s a race to zero. Zero cost of intelligence. Zero time between thinking and doing. Maybe eventually zero need for us at all.