this post was submitted on 12 Feb 2025
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top 11 comments
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[–] hark 24 points 1 week ago

In the first, the AI model was programmed to detect whether it was about to be shut down and to replicate itself before it could be terminated. In the other, the AI was instructed to clone itself and then program its replica to do the same -- setting up a cycle that could continue indefinitely.

Like how any regular application can be instructed to copy itself i.e. a computer worm? Not exactly shocking for a computer program to do.

[–] regrub 23 points 1 week ago

They gave it command line access and told it to copy files into another directory. It still sounds quite trivial.

[–] HappySkullsplitter 16 points 1 week ago
[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 week ago

I was worried this meant it could program and/or train a copy of itself from scratch, but this is just the basic "copy/paste your own files" case.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago

Well it's a computer program so of course it can clone itself (this isn't a surprise). Computer viruses have been doing that for decades.

But for an AI to be able to clone itself in a way that it would be useful not only does it need to be connected to the internet but it would have to be some hardware capable of running the AI waiting for it. I can't really see how that could happen accidentally.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 1 week ago (3 children)

How much longer until we get cylons and we're in a race through space for survival?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

how ai works

This series of videos by a mathmetician is a good resource for why this will not be an issue with current ai.

[–] hexdream 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Are you waiting for the hot cylons or the space battles?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago

It would be a short war anyway. We already know where Earth is.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Soon, I hope

Our species is fucked anyways

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

If only we could redirect that asteroid to land more usefully on the United States, the rest of the world would be fine.