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AIQuiet 6d · day 6

Ezra Klein’s NYT Opinion Piece Calls for Banning AI Self-Improvement

A New York Times opinion essay argues the AI industry is handing away human control by letting models improve themselves, and calls for a ban.

newest coverage 5d agosummary written 5d ago5 pieces17 likes & upvotes1 comments MastodonNewswiresBluesky

What to know

  • A New York Times opinion piece by Ezra Klein and co-authors argues the real AI risk is companies choosing to let models recursively self-improve, not an inevitable loss of control.
  • The piece calls for a ban on AI self-improvement in frontier model development, framing current industry practice as self-regulation by the same actors creating the risk.
  • Early social reaction includes a Bluesky comment comparing the mainstream NYT piece's tone to content from the rationalist AI-safety forum LessWrong.

Ezra KleinEzra Klein NYT opinion columnist, lead authorMarie Cascione Co-author of the NYT opinion pieceClaire Gordon Co-author of the NYT opinion pieceRollin Hu Co-author of the NYT opinion piece

How it unfolded 3 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts

Peak 4 pieces in two hours at Sep 20, 12 AM; 5 pieces over 6 days (2 articles · 3 posts) Sep 20, 12 AM — 4 pieces · 2 articles · 2 posts — Mastodon 3, Newswires 1Sep 20, 2 AM — quietSep 20, 4 AM — quietSep 20, 6 AM — quietSep 20, 8 AM — quietSep 20, 10 AM — quietSep 20, 12 PM — quietSep 20, 2 PM — quietSep 20, 4 PM — quietSep 20, 6 PM — quietSep 20, 8 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Bluesky 1Sep 20, 10 PM — quietSep 21, 12 AM — quietSep 21, 2 AM — quietSep 21, 4 AM — quietSep 21, 6 AM — quietSep 21, 8 AM — quietSep 21, 10 AM — quietSep 21, 12 PM — quietSep 21, 2 PM — quietSep 21, 4 PM — quietSep 21, 6 PM — quietSep 21, 8 PM — quietSep 21, 10 PM — quietSep 22, 12 AM — quietSep 22, 2 AM — quietSep 22, 4 AM — quietSep 22, 6 AM — quietSep 22, 8 AM — quietSep 22, 10 AM — quietSep 22, 12 PM — quietSep 22, 2 PM — quietSep 22, 4 PM — quietSep 22, 6 PM — quietSep 22, 8 PM — quietSep 22, 10 PM — quietSep 23, 12 AM — quietSep 23, 2 AM — quietSep 23, 4 AM — quietSep 23, 6 AM — quietSep 23, 8 AM — quietSep 23, 10 AM — quietSep 23, 12 PM — quietSep 23, 2 PM — quietSep 23, 4 PM — quietSep 23, 6 PM — quietSep 23, 8 PM — quietSep 23, 10 PM — quietSep 24, 12 AM — quietSep 24, 2 AM — quietSep 24, 4 AM — quietSep 24, 6 AM — quietSep 24, 8 AM — quietSep 24, 10 AM — quietSep 24, 12 PM — quietSep 24, 2 PM — quietSep 24, 4 PM — quietSep 24, 6 PM — quietSep 24, 8 PM — quietSep 24, 10 PM — quietYesterday, 12 AM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — quietYesterday, 4 AM — quietYesterday, 6 AM — quietYesterday, 8 AM — quietYesterday, 10 AM — quietYesterday, 12 PM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 4 PM — quietYesterday, 6 PM — quietYesterday, 8 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — quietToday, 12 AM — quietToday, 2 AM — quietToday, 4 AM — quietToday, 6 AM — quietToday, 8 AM — quietToday, 10 AM — quiet 1–23
Sep 21Sep 22Sep 23Sep 24yesterdaynow · 11:46 AM ET
  1. 3

    Bluesky user likens NYT piece to a LessWrong post

    A Bluesky commenter reacted with surprise that a mainstream NYT opinion piece reads like content from LessWrong, the rationalist/AI-safety forum, signaling notice from AI-safety-adjacent online communities.

    “The @nytimes.com is a straight-up LessWrong post. What is even happening 😳…”
    — nathaliemarechal.net
    • nathaliemarechal.net

      The @nytimes.com is a straight-up LessWrong post. What is even happening 😳

      nathaliemarechal.netBluesky5d ago8▲view on Bluesky ↗
  2. 1

    Piece and companion video circulate via NYT and Flipboard reposts

    The essay and an accompanying NYT opinion video were syndicated and reposted through Flipboard-linked Mastodon accounts, extending the piece's reach beyond the original NYT publication.

    “Letting A.I. patrol its own frontier is like asking Jesse James to patrol the Wild West.”
    — Ezra Klein, NYT opinion columnist · source
  3. 2

    Klein and co-authors call for banning AI self-improvement

    The New York Times published an opinion essay by Ezra Klein, Marie Cascione, Claire Gordon and Rollin Hu arguing that the risk from advanced AI comes not from humans losing control passively but from companies deliberately ceding control by letting AI systems recursively improve themselves, and calling for a ban on this practice.

    1. 2 outlets Opinion | We’re Not Losing Control of A.I. We’re Giving It Away.

      first by Mastodon, 6d ago · also NYT

      1 more headline