en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliezer_Yudkowsky
2 corrections found
He is the founder of and a research fellow at the Machine Intelligence Research Institute
This is inaccurate because Yudkowsky was not the sole founder of MIRI. MIRI’s own materials describe him as a co-founder and say the organization was founded together with Brian and Sabine Atkins.
Full reasoning
The wording "the founder" implies that Eliezer Yudkowsky alone founded MIRI. But MIRI’s official history says: "Eliezer Yudkowsky, along with Brian and Sabine Atkins, founded MIRI as the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence." MIRI’s staff page for Yudkowsky likewise calls him "the co-founder of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute."
So while the article is right that Yudkowsky helped found MIRI, calling him the founder is inaccurate; the official record describes multiple founders.
2 sources
- About the Machine Intelligence Research Institute
History — 2000: Eliezer Yudkowsky, along with Brian and Sabine Atkins, founded MIRI as the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence...
- Eliezer Yudkowsky - Machine Intelligence Research Institute
Eliezer Yudkowsky is a founding researcher of the field of AI alignment and the co-founder of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute.
leading a reporter to ask President Joe Biden a question about AI safety at a press briefing
This misstates the incident. The question was asked at a White House press briefing to Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, not directly to President Joe Biden.
Full reasoning
Contemporaneous coverage and the transcript of the March 30, 2023 briefing show that Fox correspondent Peter Doocy asked the questions during Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s briefing.
Fox News reported that "White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre did not say whether the Biden administration would urge lawmakers to federally regulate AI after she was asked by Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy," and later notes that Doocy asked Jean-Pierre whether President Biden was worried about AI becoming self-aware. Roll Call’s Factba.se transcript is titled "Press Briefing: Karine Jean-Pierre Holds a Press Briefing: at The White House - March 30, 2023."
That means the reporter did not ask President Biden at the briefing; he asked the White House press secretary about Biden’s views.
2 sources
- White House tight-lipped as push for congressional intervention into rapid AI developments heats up | Fox News
Fielding questions from the briefing room on Thursday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre ... was asked by Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy ... Doocy then asked Jean-Pierre whether President Biden is "worried that artificial intelligence could become self-aware."
- Factbase Transcripts - Roll Call
Press Briefing: Karine Jean-Pierre Holds a Press Briefing: at The White House - March 30, 2023