--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We should not be confident in our ability…" description: "\"We should not be confident in our ability to keep a super-intelligent genie locked up in its bottle forever.\" — Nick Bostrom" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ce/nick-bostrom-10771_ability_we-should-not-be-confident-in-our-abilit_1046997.png" --- # We should not be confident in our ability to keep a… ![“We should not be confident in our ability to keep a super-intelligent genie locked up in its bottle forever.” quote by Nick Bostrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ce/nick-bostrom-10771_ability_we-should-not-be-confident-in-our-abilit_1046997.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ce/nick-bostrom-10771_ability_we-should-not-be-confident-in-our-abilit_1046997.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ce/nick-bostrom-10771_ability_we-should-not-be-confident-in-our-abilit_1046997.png) > “We should not be confident in our ability to keep a super-intelligent genie locked up in its bottle forever.” [Nick Bostrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-bostrom/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We cannot be certain we can permanently contain a super‑intelligent AI. **In simple terms:** AI containment is uncertain. Key Takeaway Prepare for AI safety. Themes AI risk uncertainty future tech Mood cautious analytical Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - AI development - policy planning - risk assessment Key Concepts superintelligence containment strategies Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards are feasible? - How to balance innovation and safety? A Different Perspective May underestimate containment possibilities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) [Be confident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/be-confident/) [Bottle Forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bottle-forever-2482095/) [Bottles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bottles/) [Forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forever/) [Genie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genie/) [Genie Locked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genie-locked-2482093/) [Genies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genies/) [Intelligent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligent/) [Intelligent Genie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligent-genie-2482092/) [Locked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/locked/) [Locked Bottle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/locked-bottle-2482094/) [Locked up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/locked-up/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) ## Related quotes > [I recommend that everyone have a Diaper Genie. Who can live without it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-kardashian/i-recommend-that-everyone-have-a-diaper-genie-who-can-live-without-it/) [Kim Kardashian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-kardashian/) > [True genius sees with the eyes of a child and thinks with the brain of a genie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/puzant-kevork-thomajan/true-genius-sees-with-the-eyes-of-a-child-and-thinks-with-the-brain/) [Puzant Kevork Thomajan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/puzant-kevork-thomajan/) > [If I had all the money in the world, I'd be like, "Great, let's just keep doing it!" I, unfortunately, have not won the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-levi/if-i-had-all-the-money-in-the-world-i-d-be-like-great-let-s-just-keep/) [Zachary Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-levi/) > [I would like 'I Dream of Genie' powers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-joyner-kersee/i-would-like-i-dream-of-genie-powers/) [Jackie Joyner-Kersee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-joyner-kersee/) > [Certainly we've seen the enormous changes across the whole of the Middle East. The democratic genie is out of the bottle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-major/certainly-we-ve-seen-the-enormous-changes-across-the-whole-of-the/) [John Major](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-major/) > [I have six-year-old fans that weren't even around for 'Genie in a Bottle' or even 'Fighter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-aguilera/i-have-six-year-old-fans-that-weren-t-even-around-for-genie-in-a/) [Christina Aguilera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-aguilera/) > [It's too late by the way, with virtual reality. You can't put the genie back into the bottle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-rheingold/it-s-too-late-by-the-way-with-virtual-reality-you-can-t-put-the-genie/) [Howard Rheingold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-rheingold/) > [It was like having a genie. I'd only get so many wishes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/it-was-like-having-a-genie-i-d-only-get-so-many-wishes/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [A sarcastic blond genie with a bad attitude. -Clary, pg.243-](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/a-sarcastic-blond-genie-with-a-bad-attitude-clary-pg-243/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [The strength of the genie comes from being in a bottle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wilbur/the-strength-of-the-genie-comes-from-being-in-a-bottle/) [Richard Wilbur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wilbur/) > [Then it was like a genie out of the bottle and it began to walk all on its own and in directions I did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-kalashnikov/then-it-was-like-a-genie-out-of-the-bottle-and-it-began-to-walk-all/) [Mikhail Kalashnikov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-kalashnikov/) > [If we play genie and grant client wishes, we are apt to construct castles of code in the air.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-constantine/if-we-play-genie-and-grant-client-wishes-we-are-apt-to-construct/) [Larry Constantine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-constantine/) > [I remember seeing Aladdin when I was five or six and loving it. I looked at the big screen and said to my mum,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-criss/i-remember-seeing-aladdin-when-i-was-five-or-six-and-loving-it-i/) [Darren Criss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-criss/) > [I want to find a genie in a bottle that can grant me three wishes. I want to be able to speak, read, write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/i-want-to-find-a-genie-in-a-bottle-that-can-grant-me-three-wishes-i/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [ One of the great things about this genie \[from Aladdin\] is that when Robin Williams created him, and they created this after him, they… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-monroe-iglehart/one-of-the-great-things-about-this-genie-from-aladdin-is-that-when/) [James Monroe Iglehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-monroe-iglehart/) ## More by Nick Bostrom > [“It now seems clear that a capacity to learn would be an integral feature of the core design of a system intended to attain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-bostrom/it-now-seems-clear-that-a-capacity-to-learn-would-be-an-integral/) [Nick Bostrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-bostrom/) > [The challenge presented by the prospect of superintelligence, and how we might best respond is quite possibly the most important and most daunting challenge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-bostrom/the-challenge-presented-by-the-prospect-of-superintelligence-and-how/) [Nick Bostrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-bostrom/) > [For healthy adult people, the really big thing we can foresee are ways of intervening in the ageing process, either by slowing or reversing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-bostrom/for-healthy-adult-people-the-really-big-thing-we-can-foresee-are-ways/) [Nick Bostrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-bostrom/) > [“We can think of wisdom as the ability to get the important things approximately right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-bostrom/we-can-think-of-wisdom-as-the-ability-to-get-the-important-things/) [Nick Bostrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-bostrom/) > [“The Google search engine is, arguably, the greatest AI system that has yet been built.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-bostrom/the-google-search-engine-is-arguably-the-greatest-ai-system-that-has/) [Nick Bostrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-bostrom/) > [Far from being the smartest possible biological species, we are probably better thought of as the stupidest possible biological species capable of starting a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-bostrom/far-from-being-the-smartest-possible-biological-species-we-are/) [Nick Bostrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-bostrom/) > [“If the distance between base and apex for you is eight kilometers, then to reach my dwellings would take a million light-year ascent. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-bostrom/if-the-distance-between-base-and-apex-for-you-is-eight-kilometers/) [Nick Bostrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-bostrom/) > [ “There is more scholarly work on the life-habits of the dung fly than on existential risks \[to humanity\].” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-bostrom/there-is-more-scholarly-work-on-the-life-habits-of-the-dung-fly-than/) [Nick Bostrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-bostrom/) > [“If one wished to speak provocatively, one could say that individuals created from such proofread genomes might be “more human” than anybody currently alive,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-bostrom/if-one-wished-to-speak-provocatively-one-could-say-that-individuals/) [Nick Bostrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-bostrom/) > [When we are headed the wrong way, the last thing we need is progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-bostrom/when-we-are-headed-the-wrong-way-the-last-thing-we-need-is-progress/) [Nick Bostrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-bostrom/) > [“Lie detectors (should it prove feasible to make ones that are reliable and easy to use) could reduce the scope for deception in human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-bostrom/lie-detectors-should-it-prove-feasible-to-make-ones-that-are-reliable/) [Nick Bostrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-bostrom/) > [“Rather, each brain develops its own idiosyncratic representations of higher-level content. Which particular neuronal assemblies are recruited to represent a particular concept depends on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-bostrom/rather-each-brain-develops-its-own-idiosyncratic-representations-of/) [Nick Bostrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-bostrom/) > [“Consider an AI that has hedonism as its final goal, and which would therefore like to tile the universe with “hedonium” (matter organized in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-bostrom/consider-an-ai-that-has-hedonism-as-its-final-goal-and-which-would/) [Nick Bostrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-bostrom/) > [“Utopia is the hope that the scattered fragments of good that we come across from time to time in our lives can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-bostrom/utopia-is-the-hope-that-the-scattered-fragments-of-good-that-we-come/) [Nick Bostrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-bostrom/) > [“Thus the first ultraintelligent machine is the last invention that man need ever make, provided that the machine is docile enough to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-bostrom/thus-the-first-ultraintelligent-machine-is-the-last-invention-that/) [Nick Bostrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-bostrom/) [Explore all 63 Nick Bostrom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-bostrom/) ## More Ability quotes > [I don't think there's a direct correlation between my sexuality and my skiing ability. But I think because I was so concerned about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-kenworthy/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-direct-correlation-between-my-sexuality-and/) [Gus Kenworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-kenworthy/) > [“the importance of ability. The things that make a great job great, I discovered, are rare and valuable. If you want them in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/the-importance-of-ability-the-things-that-make-a-great-job-great-i/) [Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/) > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [I've seen guys come along with more ability - they've been faster or bigger or stronger - but they never worked hard to develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-largent/i-ve-seen-guys-come-along-with-more-ability-they-ve-been-faster-or/) [Steve Largent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-largent/) > [The youth of India has the strength to move the entire World with a click of a mouse, we have generated that ability!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/the-youth-of-india-has-the-strength-to-move-the-entire-world-with-a/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [An absolutely necessary part of a writer's equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/an-absolutely-necessary-part-of-a-writer-s-equipment-almost-as/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [I'd be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I'd been given. I'd be more frightened by procrastination and laziness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-washington/i-d-be-more-frightened-by-not-using-whatever-abilities-i-d-been-given/) [Denzel Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-washington/) > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Take what I cannot give: my heart, body, thoughts, time, abilities, money, health, strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/bring-into-captivity-every-thought-to-the-obedience-of-christ-take/) [Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/) > [You can only do the work to the very best of your ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-baranski/you-can-only-do-the-work-to-the-very-best-of-your-ability/) [Christine Baranski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-baranski/) > [Judge a person not by his ability to make money but by his ability to retain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/judge-a-person-not-by-his-ability-to-make-money-but-by-his-ability-to/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Bobby had faith in my ability as a singer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-london/bobby-had-faith-in-my-ability-as-a-singer/) [Julie London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-london/) [Browse all 9,990 Ability quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We should not be confident in our ability to keep a super-intelligent genie locked up in its bottle forever.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nick Bostrom" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-bostrom/we-should-not-be-confident-in-our-ability-to-keep-a-super-intelligent/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ability" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-bostrom/we-should-not-be-confident-in-our-ability-to-keep-a-super-intelligent/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ce/nick-bostrom-10771_ability_we-should-not-be-confident-in-our-abilit_1046997.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ce/nick-bostrom-10771_ability_we-should-not-be-confident-in-our-abilit_1046997.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ce/nick-bostrom-10771_ability_we-should-not-be-confident-in-our-abilit_1046997.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We should not be confident in our ability to keep a super-intelligent genie locked up in its bottle forever.” — Nick Bostrom", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Nick Bostrom", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-bostrom/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We should not be confident in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-bostrom/we-should-not-be-confident-in-our-ability-to-keep-a-super-intelligent/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-bostrom/we-should-not-be-confident-in-our-ability-to-keep-a-super-intelligent/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```