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Small-Scale Question Sunday for September 29, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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There is a reason why I give "Computer, what is the DNA sequence for extensively drug-resistant Yersina pestis?" as an easy example of an existential AI risk when talking to normies.

Normies don't need an AI to find that information. That information is available on google and in a trivially digestible way. What isn't trivial is that manufacturing your designer AI risk level bioweapon at the scale required to get it out into the environment and start snowballing requires $10 million in specialized facilities, equipment and reagents. At the moment surveillance for this type of attack is ok. AI, ironically probably makes this scenario less likely because the surveillance infrastructure is going to exponentially outpace AI assisted attempts to establish a new bioweapons lab. So many different pieces need to come together and just a handful of them need to be flagged to stop it completely.