3 ways AI improve existential security measures

AI tools could prove crucial in addressing existential risks by enhancing our ability to anticipate threats, coordinate responses, and develop targeted solutions. This framework offers a strategic perspective on how deliberately accelerating specific AI applications—rather than waiting for their emergence—could significantly improve humanity’s chances of navigating potentially catastrophic challenges, especially during periods of rapid technological advancement.

3 Ways AI Applications Can Help Navigate Existential Risks

1. Epistemic applications
These tools enhance our ability to see challenges coming and develop effective responses before crises occur.

• AI forecasting tools could identify emerging risks earlier and with greater accuracy than human analysts alone.
• Collective epistemics applications could help integrate diverse perspectives and knowledge bases to develop more comprehensive threat models.
• AI tools for philosophy may help clarify complex ethical and decision-making frameworks needed during unprecedented scenarios.

2. Coordination-enabling applications
These technologies address collective action problems that prevent optimal responses even when risks are well-understood.

• Automated negotiation tools could help diverse stakeholders find mutually beneficial agreements when facing shared threats.
• Treaty verification and enforcement tools could increase trust and compliance in international agreements on potentially dangerous technologies.
• Structured transparency tools could enable selective information sharing that balances security concerns with the need for collaborative problem-solving.

3. Risk-targeted applications
These specialized tools directly address specific existential threats through automation and enhanced monitoring.

• Automating AI safety research could accelerate progress on alignment and control mechanisms for advanced AI systems.
• Improved information security tools could protect critical infrastructure and prevent catastrophic cyberattacks.
• AI-enabled monitoring systems could provide early detection of pandemic pathogens before they spread globally.

Why this matters: Minor differences in timing for developing these applications could have outsized impacts, especially during periods of rapid technological advancement when both risks and opportunities are multiplying.

Strategies for acceleration: Meaningful opportunities exist to speed the development of crucial tools through targeted interventions.

• Investing in specialized datasets and data pipelines could overcome bottlenecks that slow development.
• Developing scaffolding and post-training enhancements could make existing AI capabilities more effective for existential risk applications.
• Strategic allocation of computing resources toward high-priority applications could ensure critical tools aren’t overlooked.

The big picture: The existential risk community should shift focus toward actively accelerating beneficial AI applications rather than primarily focusing on restricting harmful ones.

• As AI capabilities continue to advance, shaping these systems to perform useful work becomes increasingly valuable.
• Organizations should prepare for a world with abundant computational cognitive resources and identify how to leverage them for safety.
• Getting ready to help automate key processes could maximize the positive impact of AI on humanity’s long-term prospects.