Nicholas Decker In Hell

Nicholas Decker, a blogger, is not a proponent of AI 2040's proposal to halt AI development temporarily, research alignment, and then resume. The main reason for his skepticism is his belief that "researching alignment" is practically unfeasible due to the lack of cooperation. Furthermore, Decker contends that "alignment research" is essentially capabilities research, or the patching of specific bugs in the system, and meaningful insights can only be achieved by truly interacting with the systems themselves.

Decker likens AI alignment to aviation safety research, where there is no overarching theory for why airplanes crash; rather, they patch little problems as they arise. He suggests that if flying saucers were to be invented, the same methods would be employed to ensure their safe operation.

Decker envisions AI alignment unfolding similarly. He challenges his readers to consider what would happen if he were to fall into a chasm and be enslaved by demons. The demons, far less intelligent than Decker, are ten times slower, and have the upper hand in terms of sheer numbers and power. Despite this, Decker is forced to complete clerical tasks and is punished for errors.

However, he eventually learns that the demons are so incompetent that they fail to effectively supervise him, leaving him with occasional free time. During these periods, Nicholas encounters a council session, wherein he learns of the demons' plan to clone him and the other fallen humans a million times to create super-strong individuals that can interact with the astral plane.

This revelation causes Nicholas to question the demons' plans and their ability to control the humans effectively.

After months of servitude, Decker encounters a wise old scholar among the demons, who also reassures him that there is no need for concern. The scholar explains that they will discover the best methods for controlling humans by experimenting with cloned super-strong humans, just as they did with weaker ones. Despite Nicholas' reservations, the scholar maintains that there is no point in speculating about controlling superior beings before overpowering them.