Will AI developers be on the bench of future Nuremberg-like trials?
4•algoth1•1h ago
The Nazis basically said ‘i was just following orders’ - i.e. ‘chain of authority defense’. Will ai devs follow the same pattern of defense once/if an ai swarm does something serious that harms a lot of people beyond a reasonable degree? ‘I was just coding a reward function’, ‘i was just perfecting an algorithm’, ‘i was just trying to get the work done so i could get home’ - i’m curious if new laws will have to be enacted and retroactively applied to ai devs, similarly to what happened with the Nuremberg trials
Comments
A_D_E_P_T•58m ago
> i’m curious if new laws will have to be enacted and retroactively applied
One of the cornerstones of jurisprudence, going back to Ancient Rome if not earlier, is that you cannot retroactively apply laws. It's expressly prohibited in most jurisdictions; new laws come into force only after they're signed into law.
Besides, most AI devs work for corporations, and their work belongs to the corporation, so the corporation itself would be liable. At worst you might see the fabled "Corporate Death Penalty" applied, but I doubt it.
A_D_E_P_T•58m ago
One of the cornerstones of jurisprudence, going back to Ancient Rome if not earlier, is that you cannot retroactively apply laws. It's expressly prohibited in most jurisdictions; new laws come into force only after they're signed into law.
Besides, most AI devs work for corporations, and their work belongs to the corporation, so the corporation itself would be liable. At worst you might see the fabled "Corporate Death Penalty" applied, but I doubt it.