Instead of worrying about AI bringing about Skynet and the end of humanity, Google wants to find ways to stop artificial intelligence from hacking its reward system.

That’s just one of “five practical research problems” proposed by scientists at Google, OpenAI, Stanford and Berkeley in a paper called “Concrete Problems in AI Safety” (pdf). Others included “safe exploration” issues, or how to stop a curious cleaning robot from sticking a wet mop in an electrical socket, and “avoiding negative side effects” such as a robot breaking granny’s vase when cleaning in a rush.

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