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Aggression Quote by Steven Pinker

“Why give a robot an order to obey orders—why aren't the original orders enough? Why command a robot not to do harm—wouldn't it be easier never to command it to do harm in the first place? Does the universe contain a mysterious force pulling entities toward malevolence, so that a positronic brain…” quote by Steven Pinker
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““Why give a robot an order to obey orders—why aren't the original orders enough? Why command a robot not to do harm—wouldn't it be easier never to command it to do harm in the first place? Does the universe contain a mysterious force pulling entities toward malevolence, so that a positronic brain must be programmed to withstand it? Do intelligent beings inevitably develop an attitude problem? (…) Now that computers really have become smarter and more powerful, the anxiety has waned. Today's ubiquitous, networked computers have an unprecedented ability to do mischief should they ever go to the bad. But the only mayhem comes from unpredictable chaos or from human malice in the form of viruses. We no longer worry about electronic serial killers or subversive silicon cabals because we are beginning to appreciate that malevolence—like vision, motor coordination, and common sense—does not come free with computation but has to be programmed in. (…) Aggression, like every other part of human behavior we take for granted, is a challenging engineering problem!””

Steven Pinker

About This Quote

Source Speech: Public talk on AI ethics, 2018

The speaker questions why we must explicitly program robots to avoid harm, suggesting malevolence is not inherent to intelligence and must be engineered.

In simple terms: Robots need rules to stay safe because harmful behavior isn’t automatic.

Key Takeaway

Design safety into AI from the start.

Themes

ethics AI safety human nature

Mood

cautious thoughtful

Type

philosophical technical

When to use this quote

  • AI development
  • robotic control
  • policy making

Key Concepts

programming volition risk management

Questions to Reflect On

  • What ethical frameworks should guide AI programming?
  • How can we test AI resistance to malevolent behavior?
A Different Perspective

Assuming all AI will follow rules may be overly optimistic.

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