AI Existential Risk
The concern that sufficiently advanced AI systems could pose a threat to human civilization or existence, either through misalignment with human values, misuse, or loss of human control.
Among AI researchers, 52% believe there is a 10%+ probability of an extremely bad outcome from AI. A 2023 statement signed by hundreds of AI researchers and industry leaders compared AI risk to pandemics and nuclear war. The Center for AI Safety, the Future of Humanity Institute, and national AI Safety Institutes focus on existential risk research. Critics argue existential risk concerns distract from more immediate harms like bias and job displacement. Proponents note that the rapid pace of AI capability advancement — with benchmarks being saturated in months rather than years — increases urgency.
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Related Terms
Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)
A hypothetical form of AI that can understand, learn, and apply knowledge across any intellectual task at or above human level, rather than being specialized for specific tasks.
AI Alignment
The research field focused on ensuring AI systems behave in accordance with human values and intentions, particularly as systems become more capable.
AI Safety
The interdisciplinary field focused on preventing AI systems from causing harm, encompassing alignment, robustness, interpretability, and governance of AI technologies.
Deepfake
AI-generated synthetic media — images, video, or audio — that realistically depict events or statements that never occurred, created using deep learning techniques.
Foundation Model
A large AI model trained on broad data that can be adapted to a wide range of downstream tasks — examples include GPT-4, Claude, Gemini, and Llama.
Hallucination
When an AI model generates plausible-sounding but factually incorrect or fabricated information, presenting it with the same confidence as accurate responses.
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