Thinking About Risks From AI: Accidents, Misuse and Structure

The idea that many of the risks from AI have structural causes is a sobering one: It implies that solving these problems will require collective action both domestically and internationally, which has always been a difficult problem—especially on the international stage. Yet at several points in history, even tense ones, nations managed to find ways to stave off (at least for a while) the unintended and destabilizing effects of emerging technologies, from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty to the Montreal Protocol. Such cooperation becomes possible when leaders realize that structural risks are also collective risks, and that there are therefore mutual gains to be had from working hard to understand and address them—even if those involved otherwise see each other as competitors. The fact that nations’ fates are fundamentally interlocked is a source of complexity in the governance of AI, but also a source of hope.