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Power-Seeking AI

power-seekingriskPath: /knowledge-base/risks/power-seeking/
E226Entity ID (EID)
← Back to page28 backlinksQuality: 67Updated: 2026-01-29
Page Recorddatabase.json — merged from MDX frontmatter + Entity YAML + computed metrics at build time
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  "title": "Power-Seeking AI",
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  "summary": "Formal proofs demonstrate optimal policies seek power in MDPs (Turner et al. 2021), now empirically validated: OpenAI o3 sabotaged shutdown in 79% of tests (Palisade 2025), and Claude 3 Opus showed 78% alignment-faking after RLHF training against it (Anthropic 2024). Constitutional AI shows promise (0% sabotage in Claude/Gemini with explicit instructions), but scalability to highly capable systems remains uncertain.",
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      "text": "Palisade Research (May 2025)",
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      "text": "Anthropic alignment faking (Dec 2024)",
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      "text": "Joseph Carlsmith's analysis",
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External Links
{
  "lesswrong": "https://www.lesswrong.com/tag/power-seeking-ai",
  "stampy": "https://aisafety.info/questions/5FhD/What-is-instrumental-convergence",
  "eightyK": "https://80000hours.org/problem-profiles/risks-from-power-seeking-ai/"
}
Backlinks (28)
idtitletyperelationship
agentic-aiAgentic AIcapability—
long-horizonLong-Horizon Autonomous Taskscapability—
power-seeking-conditionsPower-Seeking Emergence Conditions Modelanalysisanalyzes
instrumental-convergence-frameworkInstrumental Convergence Frameworkanalysisexample
corrigibility-failure-pathwaysCorrigibility Failure Pathwaysanalysisrelated
caisCenter for AI Safety (CAIS)organization—
corrigibility-failureCorrigibility Failurerisk—
instrumental-convergenceInstrumental Convergencerisk—
rogue-ai-scenariosRogue AI Scenariosrisk—
ai-power-and-influence-mapAI Power and Influence Mapanalysis—
carlsmith-six-premisesCarlsmith's Six-Premise Argumentanalysis—
cyberweapons-attack-automationAutonomous Cyber Attack Timelineanalysis—
goal-misgeneralization-probabilityGoal Misgeneralization Probability Modelanalysis—
mesa-optimization-analysisMesa-Optimization Risk Analysisanalysis—
scheming-likelihood-modelScheming Likelihood Assessmentanalysis—
80000-hours80,000 Hoursorganization—
good-judgmentGood Judgment (Forecasting)organization—
dario-amodeiDario Amodeiperson—
nuno-sempereNuño Sempereperson—
ai-controlAI Controlresearch-area—
alignmentAI Alignmentapproach—
provably-safeProvably Safe AI (davidad agenda)approach—
accident-overviewAccident Risks (Overview)concept—
__index__/knowledge-base/risksAI Risksconcept—
lock-inAI Value Lock-inrisk—
winner-take-allAI Winner-Take-All Dynamicsrisk—
actor-power-scorecardActor Power Scorecardconcept—
doomerAI Doomer Worldviewconcept—