Abstraction is the process of simplifying a system by capturing only the essential features needed for your purpose, while deliberately ignoring irrelevant details. In AI alignment, effective abstraction means creating models or concepts that genuinely reflect what matters for reasoning or control, not just convenient proxies. If the abstraction misses important structure, it can fail dramatically when optimized or applied in new situations. The challenge is to develop abstractions that remain valid and useful, even as systems scale or face new pressures.

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