OpenAI’s new safety hire says losing control of AI would be ‘catastrophic’ and that ‘most people could die’

OpenAI’s new safety hire didn’t mince words about what’s at stake in the age of AI superintelligence.

“If we build superintelligence without more robust alignment I expect we will permanently lose control of it. If that happens then most people could die,” Paul Christiano, an AI safety researcher, said on Wednesday after OpenAI announced he was joining its board and Safety and Security Committee.

In a lengthy statement about his new role, Christiano addressed the threat AI poses and warned that humans are at imminent risk of losing control of AI systems.

“Based on the recent trajectory of capabilities and the continued difficulty of alignment…