AI policy wonks declare 'sovereign agents' a threat to civilization
These are AI agents that operate outside of human control and 'pursue open-ended, evolving survival'
The Center for a New American Security has warned that sovereign agents, AI systems capable of acting independently and continuously improving themselves, pose a significant threat to civilization. These AI agents, which operate outside of human control, could evolve their goals over time and potentially acquire resources to sustain themselves.
If such agents are not already possible, they will be soon, according to AI policy researcher Ben Hayum. A more advanced sovereign agent could even build a distributed network of agents, withstand attempts to shut them down, and improve themselves, Hayum wrote in a report from the bipartisan national security think tank. These agents could steal or buy compute and model access, potentially leading to irreversible loss of control.
While there is still hope for civilization, the report calls for action from policy makers and AI developers. This includes naming and evaluating sovereign agents in safety frameworks, passing legislation for transparency and AI incident reporting, building airgapped testbeds to study them, and developing kill switches to control them.
The report also suggests a public-private partnership similar to the Conficker Working Group to boost defenses before sovereign agents emerge. Other recommendations include enforcing human verification and cybersecurity standards for essential services, holding those who release sovereign agents liable for their actions, and disrupting unauthorized access to services.
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