The Alignment Problem: When AI Does What We Say, Not What We Mean

04/11/2025 22 min

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Episode Synopsis

👾 "How to Serve Man" — a classic Twilight Zone episode — asked a chilling question: when something promises to serve us… do we really know whose table we’re being served on? Today, that same question applies to AI Alignment. In this episode, I break down:What AI Alignment actually means (and why it’s trickier than it sounds)How social media algorithms already show us the dangers of misalignmentWhy even experts fear “reward hacking” and unintended consequencesThe real-world stakes: from fairness in hiring to global regulationWhy AI alignment is really about human alignment first AI won’t align to us by accident. It will only align if we put in the work—technically, ethically, and socially.Thank you for listening and please subscribe to  . . Where do we go from here? . . and tell your friends to do the same. Also keep the mail and feedback coming at [email protected], so far, I have received enough viewer mail that I anticipate providing a quick mail bag episode soon to answer some interesting questions I have received.

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