AI tools for existential security

Abstract

Rapid advancements in artificial intelligence represent a primary driver of existential risk, yet specific applications of the technology offer critical pathways for navigating these challenges. Three categories of tools are particularly promising: epistemic applications that improve forecasting and collective decision-making; coordination-enabling tools that facilitate automated negotiation and treaty verification; and risk-targeted applications such as automated alignment research and enhanced biosecurity monitoring. While market forces drive general progress, targeted interventions can differentially accelerate these beneficial applications through specialized data pipelines, robust task-evaluation schemes, and strategic compute allocation. Shifting the focus of existential risk reduction toward the acceleration of these tools allows for a differential development approach that can often be pursued unilaterally. As AI progress moves toward a state of abundant cognition, it is necessary to prepare for the automation of safety-critical tasks and the potential obsolescence of current labor-intensive manual methodologies. Prioritizing the development of risk-reducing capabilities before corresponding risk-generating capabilities emerge offers a pragmatic framework for ensuring long-term technological security. – AI-generated abstract.