Understand AI safety
A route through risks, objectives and the limits of evidence.
Your outcome
Describe a concrete risk, a possible control and the evidence needed to assess it.
Read the linked section, reflect on the question, then mark the stop complete. Section times estimate 200 words per minute, excluding exercises. This is a guided reading list, not a test or certificate. Progress stays in this browser.
Define the problem
Distinguish the scope of safety from one particular failure mode.
About 3 min for the linked section and its subsections
Check your understanding: Who could be affected by the system you have in mind?
Explore mismatched objectives
Read how the objective and actual behavior can come apart.
About 3 min for the linked section and its subsections
Check your understanding: How could a system satisfy a metric while missing the intended goal?
Look for the limits of the evidence
Separate established results, assumptions and unresolved questions.
About 2 min for the linked section and its subsections
Check your understanding: What observation would change your assessment?