# AI Impacts project

I've been working on a thing with Paul Christiano that might interest some of you: the [AI Impacts](http://aiimpacts.org) project.

The basic idea is to apply the evidence and arguments that are kicking around in the world and various disconnected discussions respectively to the big questions regarding a future with AI. For instance, [these questions](http://aiimpacts.org/about/): 

> *   What should we believe about timelines for AI development?
> *   How rapid is the development of AI likely to be near human-level? 
> *   How much advance notice should we expect to have of disruptive change?
> *   What are the likely economic impacts of human-level AI?
> *   Which paths to AI should be considered plausible or likely?
> *   Will human-level AI tend to pursue particular goals, and if so what kinds of goals?
> *   Can we say anything meaningful about the impact of contemporary choices on long-term outcomes?

For example we have recently investigated [technology's general proclivity to abrupt progress](http://aiimpacts.org/cases-of-discontinuous-technological-progress/), surveyed [existing AI surveys](http://aiimpacts.org/category/ai-timelines/predictions-of-human-level-ai-timelines/ai-timeline-surveys/), and examined [the evidence from chess and other applications](http://aiimpacts.org/is-the-range-of-human-intelligence-small/) regarding how much smarter Einstein is than an intellectually disabled person, among other things. 

  

Some more on our motives and strategy, from our [about](http://aiimpacts.org/about/) page:

  

> Today, public discussion on these issues appears to be highly fragmented and of limited credibility. More credible and clearly communicated views on these issues might help improve estimates of the social returns to AI investment, identify neglected research areas, improve policy, or productively channel public interest in AI.
> 
> #### The goal of the project is to clearly present and organize the considerations which inform contemporary views on these and related issues, to identify and explore disagreements, and to assemble whatever empirical evidence is relevant.
> 
> The project is provisionally organized as a collection of posts concerning particular issues or bodies of evidence, describing what is known and attempting to synthesize a reasonable view in light of available evidence. These posts are intended to be continuously revised in light of outstanding disagreements and to make explicit reference to those disagreements.

In the medium run we'd like to provide a good reference on issues relating to the consequences of AI, as well as to improve the state of understanding of these topics. At present, the site addresses only a small fraction of questions one might be interested in, so only suitable for particularly risk-tolerant or topic-neutral reference consumers. However if you are interested in hearing about (and discussing) such research as it unfolds, you may enjoy our [blog](http://aiimpacts.org/blog/).

If you take a look and have thoughts, we would love to hear them, either in the comments here or in our [feedback form](http://aiimpacts.org/feedback/). 

_Crossposted from [my blog](https://meteuphoric.wordpress.com/2015/02/02/ai-impacts/)._