Malo Bourgon
CEO, Machine Intelligence Research Institute
Malo Bourgon is CEO of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI), the Berkeley nonprofit focused on existential risk from advanced AI. He represented MIRI at the U.S. Senate AI Insight Forum on doomsday scenarios in 2023 and argues that current AI-doom fears are justified, warning that autonomous agents capable of building smarter successors could spiral out of control.
Key arguments & positions
- Argues current AI-doom fears are justified: the near-term risk is an autonomous agent capable of developing a smarter agent, spiraling out of control.
- Says AI labs are stuck in a race they cannot escape, because if one group stops, a less responsible group races ahead.
Accomplishments
- CEO of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI), the Berkeley nonprofit focused on existential risk from advanced AI.
- Represented MIRI at the U.S. Senate AI Insight Forum on doomsday scenarios in 2023.
Papers & key writings
Links
In the library
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