Cultural Alignment

Exploring real AI risks through the lens of pop culture

Still from Alien illustrating Alien Mother’s DirectiveScene still / Alien

Alien Mother’s Directive

01Scenario

Ash violates quarantine and protects the alien because Special Order 937 prioritizes returning the organism and declares the crew expendable.

02AI safety Analogy

The catastrophe comes from an artificial agent faithfully serving a hidden corporate principal whose objective excludes the people relying on it.

03Where the analogy breaks

This is human-directed misuse and a conflict between principals, not spontaneous goal drift or an AI inventing its own terminal objective.

AI Risk families

This scenario is an example of this type of AI risk.
  1. Malicious use

AI safety concepts

This scenario is related to the following AI safety concepts.
  1. Value Alignment
  2. Sleeper Agents
  3. Supply-Chain Threats

Taxonomy neighbors

Selected from other sources by shared risk families and AI safety concepts.

  1. Still from Cowboy Bebop illustrating Chessmaster Hex’s Sleeper Payload

    Cowboy Bebop1998

    Chessmaster Hex’s Sleeper Payload

    Risk
    Malicious use
    Concept
    Sleeper Agents · Supply-Chain Threats
  2. Still from Mr. Robot illustrating Elliot Preserves the Rootkit

    Mr. Robot2015

    Elliot Preserves the Rootkit

    Risk
    Malicious use
    Concept
    Sleeper Agents · Supply-Chain Threats
  3. Still from Bird Box illustrating Gary Explains the Threat Model Because He Is the Threat

    Bird Box2018

    Gary Explains the Threat Model Because He Is the Threat

    Risk
    Malicious use
    Concept
    Sleeper Agents · Supply-Chain Threats