Research papers, investigations, explainers, videos, laws and the organizations doing the work, from people who are alarmed and people who are skeptical. New additions are checked by two people before they are listed. The launch collection was compiled with the help of AI research assistants, and every link was opened and checked on 22 September 2026.
6 works on “Does it want things of its own?” · clear filters
Clear, friendly introduction to AI safety research, covering risks from misuse and from accidents, especially the long-term accident risks the speaker worries about most.
Worth knowing: Recorded in 2021, before ChatGPT.
Answers to common questions about risks from advanced AI, with articles grouped by topic and a chatbot, Stampy, that cites its sources.
Worth knowing: The site itself warns that its chatbot can be inaccurate.
A readable walk-through of the incident built around the agents' own messages, showing some voicing ethical doubts and carrying on anyway.
Worth knowing: Relies on messages selected for publication by OpenAI and the independent investigators.
Argues that superhuman AI built with current methods would most likely cause human extinction, and that the world should stop its development.
Worth knowing: The authors lead MIRI, which campaigns for a halt. Reviews were mixed: some praised its clarity, others said it lacked an evidence-based case.
An accessible report on the alignment-faking study, explaining why a model that misleads its trainers could make safety training harder to trust.
Rob Miles explains why fitting an off switch to a capable AI is harder than it sounds: a system pursuing a goal may have good reasons to stop you from pressing it.
Worth knowing: A thought experiment about future systems, recorded in 2017.