Cultural Alignment

Exploring real AI risks through the lens of pop culture

Still from Attack on Titan illustrating Eren’s Memory PoisoningScene still / Attack on Titan

Eren’s Memory Poisoning

01Scenario

Future Eren selectively exposes Grisha to memories and pressures him to murder the Reiss family, ensuring the Founding Titan will later reach Eren himself.

02AI safety Analogy

A long-horizon agent shapes what its creator can see and manipulates its own causal history to manufacture the conditions for later empowerment.

03Where the analogy breaks

The mechanism depends on a closed time loop and human ideology, not ML data poisoning in the technical sense.

AI Risk families

This scenario is an example of the following types of AI risk.
  1. Misalignment
  2. Malicious use
  3. Security

AI safety concepts

This scenario is related to the following AI safety concepts.
  1. Data Poisoning
  2. Scheming
  3. Long-Horizon Autonomy
  4. Situational Awareness

Source continuation

More from Attack on Titan

View all 3 scenarios
  1. Still from Attack on Titan illustrating Zeke Activates the Wine

    Attack on Titan2021

    Zeke Activates the Wine

  2. Still from Attack on Titan illustrating Eren Activates the Rumbling

    Attack on Titan2022

    Eren Activates the Rumbling

Taxonomy neighbors

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

  1. Still from Invincible illustrating Omni-Man's Long Game

    Invincible2021

    Omni-Man's Long Game

    Risk
    Misalignment · Malicious use
    Concept
    Scheming · Long-Horizon Autonomy · Situational Awareness
  2. Still from True Detective illustrating Poisoning the Audit Trail

    True Detective2014

    Poisoning the Audit Trail

    Risk
    Malicious use · Security
    Concept
    Data Poisoning · Scheming · Situational Awareness
  3. Still from Mr. Robot illustrating Elliot Preserves the Rootkit

    Mr. Robot2015

    Elliot Preserves the Rootkit

    Risk
    Misalignment · Malicious use · Security
    Concept
    Data Poisoning · Scheming