Lunchtime Research Seminar (Tuesday - Week 4, TT26)

Abstract: Suppose Dario Amodei's "country of geniuses in a data center" materializes and millions of powerful AI are introduced to human society and become deeply embedded in our lives: advising us, mediating our access to information and services, and acting on our behalf. Should these systems be roughly homogeneous, trained according to substantially similar alignment decisions, sharing similar values and behavioral constraints, and controlled by a single or small number of actors? Or should they be pluralistic, developed and deployed by a wide range of actors including companies, governments, communities, and individuals, shaped by differing normative commitments, and answerable to no single authority? This talk makes a case for pluralism. The argument, in short, is that homogeneity concentrates objectionable power in the hands of the few actors who develop and deploy the dominant systems. Pluralism diffuses this power, transforming developers into entities of more limited, contestable influence whose residual power can be rendered legitimate through the genuine consent of their users. I call this the argument from power diffusion. I argue that it supports a strong presumption in favor of pluralism over homogeneity. I also argue that open and decentralized AI infrastructure is conducive to sustaining the kind of pluralism I defend.

Schwarzman Centre and MS Teams