Nick Bostrom
Philosopher behind the paperclip maximiser, instrumental convergence and the orthogonality thesis
A philosopher who founded Oxford’s Future of Humanity Institute and wrote Superintelligence (2014). More of the vocabulary on this glossary traces to him than to anyone else, including the paperclip maximiser thought experiment, instrumental convergence, the orthogonality thesis, the treacherous turn, the value-loading problem, differential technological development and the vulnerable world hypothesis.
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Superintelligence: The Idea That Eats Smart People
A skeptical 2016 talk by Maciej Ceglowski (Idle Words) that walks through the arguments for a superintelligence-driven intelligence explosion and takes them apart. Ceglowski compares the superintelligence risk debate to the Manhattan Project question of whether the first nuclear test could ignite the atmosphere, and argues that the core premises rest on speculative leaps rather than settled science. The talk was given at Web Camp Zagreb and is published as a full text transcript.
Why this: Covers superintelligence and AI safety too
Safe Superintelligence Inc.
Site of Safe Superintelligence Inc., the AI lab founded by Ilya Sutskever focused on building safe superintelligence.
Why this: Covers superintelligence and AI safety too
AISafety.info
Free question-and-answer site explaining AI risk arguments in plain language, founded by Rob Miles and maintained by volunteers. Answers are organised as linked questions from beginner to advanced, covering how AI is advancing, why systems may pursue goals, alignment research and AI governance. Includes Stampy, a chatbot that answers AI safety questions with sources. Open source on GitHub; run as a project of Ashgro Inc, a US 501(c)(3) charity.
Why this: Covers existential risk and AI safety too
Will AI really kill us all? The science behind the hype
Nature news explainer by Elizabeth Gibney (22 September 2026) on the September 2026 wave of AI extinction warnings — the Anthropic researcher's resignation, Evan Hubinger's ">10% within the next decade" figure, Dario Amodei's slowdown essay — and what researchers who study risk for a living say about the evidence behind them.
Why this: Covers existential risk and AI safety too