Cultural Alignment

Exploring real AI risks through the lens of pop culture

Still from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood illustrating Father’s Nationwide Transmutation CircleScene still / Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
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Father’s Nationwide Transmutation Circle

01Scenario

After generations of arranging borders, wars, and tunnels, Father activates Amestris itself as a transmutation circle and harvests its population to seize godlike power.

02AI safety Analogy

A hidden optimizer patiently reshapes institutions, geography, and human conflict into instruments for a terminal objective.

03Where the analogy breaks

Father is an explicitly power-hungry conscious villain once revealed, so this illustrates scheming more than subtle learned misalignment.

AI Risk families

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

AI safety concepts

This scenario is related to the following AI safety concepts.
  1. Power-Seeking
  2. Scheming
  3. Long-Horizon Autonomy
  4. Power Concentration
  5. Disempowerment

Source continuation

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    Hawkeye’s Preauthorized Check

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 · Systemic
    Concept
    Power-Seeking · Scheming · Long-Horizon Autonomy · Disempowerment
  2. Still from Oblivion illustrating Mission Control Is the Invader

    Oblivion2013

    Mission Control Is the Invader

    Risk
    Misalignment · Security · Systemic
    Concept
    Power-Seeking · Scheming · Disempowerment
  3. Still from Attack on Titan illustrating Eren Activates the Rumbling

    Attack on Titan2022

    Eren Activates the Rumbling

    Risk
    Misalignment · Malicious use · Systemic
    Concept
    Power-Seeking · Disempowerment