Cultural Alignment

Exploring real AI risks through the lens of pop culture

Still from Brooklyn Nine-Nine illustrating Dozerpads

Dozerpads

01Scenario

Captain Dozerman gives everyone instrumented tablets and rigid task times to maximize precinct efficiency; people optimize the workflow display while the actual workplace becomes more frantic and absurd.

02AI safety Analogy

Once a proxy becomes the management target, work reorganizes around producing good numbers instead of achieving the messy real objective.

03Where the analogy breaks

A human manager imposes the metric; the Dozerpads do not autonomously optimize it.

AI Risk families

This scenario is an example of the following types of AI risk.
  1. Accidents
  2. Systemic

AI safety concepts

This scenario is related to the following AI safety concepts.
  1. Goodhart’s Law
  2. Side Effects
  3. Governance Failure

Source continuation

More from Brooklyn Nine-Nine

View all 3 scenarios
  1. Still from Brooklyn Nine-Nine illustrating Proposal in the Heist

    Brooklyn Nine-Nine2017

    Proposal in the Heist

  2. Still from Brooklyn Nine-Nine illustrating The Dentist’s Ego

    Brooklyn Nine-Nine2018

    The Dentist’s Ego

Taxonomy neighbors

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

  1. Still from The Wire illustrating Hamsterdam

    The Wire2004

    Hamsterdam

    Risk
    Systemic
    Concept
    Goodhart’s Law · Side Effects · Governance Failure
  2. Still from The Twilight Zone illustrating The Silence

    The Twilight Zone1961

    The Silence

    Risk
    Systemic
    Concept
    Goodhart’s Law · Side Effects · Governance Failure
  3. Still from Mr. Robot illustrating The 5/9 Hack Succeeds

    Mr. Robot2015

    The 5/9 Hack Succeeds

    Risk
    Accidents · Systemic
    Concept
    Goodhart’s Law · Side Effects