Nanny AI

Nanny AI is a form of Artificial General Intelligence proposed by Ben Goertzel to delay the Singularity while protecting and nurturing humanity. Nanny AI was proposed as a means of reducing the risks associated with the Singularity by delaying it until a predetermined time has passed, predetermined conditions are met, or permanently. Delaying the Singularity would allow for further research and reflection about our values and time to built a friendly artificial intelligence.

Ben Goertzel has suggested a number of preliminary components for building a Nanny AI:

• A mildly superhuman Artificial General Intelligence
• A global surveillance network tied to the Nanny AI
• Final control of all robots given to the Nanny AI
• To be reluctant to change its goals, increase its intelligence, or act against humanity's extrapolated desires
• To be able to reinterpret its goals at human prompting
• To prevent any technological development that would hinder it
• To yield control to another AI at a predetermined time

In a paper by Luke Muehlhauser and Anna Salamon to be published in The Singularity Hypothesis, it was suggested that programming a safe Nanny AI will require solving most, if not all, the problems that must be solved in programming a Friendly Artificial Intelligence. Ben Goertzel suggests that a Nanny AI may be a necessary evil to prevent disasters from developing technology, though he acknowledges it poses risks of its own.

References

• Should humanity build a global AI nanny to delay the singularity until it’s better understood? by Ben Goertzel
• Mitigating the Risks of Artificial Superintelligence
• Does Humanity Need an AI Nanny? by Ben Goertzel
• Muehlhauser, Luke; Salamon, Anna (2012). "Intelligence Explosion: Evidence and Import". in Eden, Amnon; Søraker, Johnny; Moor, James H. et al.. The singularity hypothesis: A scientific and philosophical assessment. Berlin: Springer.