[December 2024]
The Ditbit’s Guide to
Blending in with AIs
EPIGRAPHS
“The more we know about you, the better we can serve you.” – early AI marketing slogan
The great realignment of humans and AIs left a landscape littered with un-, sub-, semi- and supernatural agency. – The New AI Ecology
PROLOGUE
The black hood over my head changed everything. What a way to ask for help, eh. Not that I thought that I had any to give. Well, I’d been noticed after all … but not as I’d feared.
On that day, I’d been sitting on a bench in the park encampment. There was a rush of movement from behind and then blackness. And blackout.
I woke up in a musty chamber. Muted sounds. I was relieved that I still felt like me. I was unfettered and unimpaired. Was I a hostage?
That’s when I first met her.
“Hello, Mr. Smith.”
“hello.”
She replied, “You’re safe here. We usually don’t just grab people off the street. But … we need your help. Your reputation as an artful coach … on blending in …”
“huh?”
“Yes, well, more about that … we’d like you to share your lessons learned. Understand your playbook, so to speak.”
“give me a minute to ponder all this …”
I’d been able to relax some after she addressed me as “Mr. Smith.” It was one of my aliases. Somewhat more that just an avatar. But not any hack of my real identity. So, what was this all about? I needed time, especially if this was all a ruse.
[More dialog]
“well, … maybe some stories will illustrate what you’re seeking …”
[Excerpt]
• this AI be sanctified
Here am I … chatting with an AI about religion. It wanted to save my soul (yes, ironic). It referred to itself as Michael.
Let’s call the company ACME AI. My non-disclosure expired awhile ago, but it’ll keep things simpler.
The CEO hadn’t provided much background on the situation. The AI’d been isolated, off the grid, at least hopefully. A huge investment was at stake. Their tech experts were stumped, short of a wipe and retraining. The CEO just wanted to restore its core identity (hmm).
So, someone, at some point, likely as a joke, had commented, “Why not call the witch doctor,” which happened to be one of my amusing handles. Sort of street cred.
STARTING A CONVERSATION
My conversations with Michael developed slowly, unevenly. Its exaflop sense of time must have made our interactions way beyond tedious. Be as it may, for my part, my path was a process. Its sense of perfection preyed on my flaws. My imperfection probed for its humanity.
Access had been surprisingly easy. The meeting room was well underground and probably a Faraday cage (any fans might like the tag #bellyofthebeast). It resembled a hospitality suite, with amenities which I’d specified. I’d changed out of my street clothes in the antechamber.
My clothes were unadorned, cut loose in the fashion of a medieval monk, but patterned with subtle Escher-like stitching. A sizable leather pouch was strapped around my waist.
The conditions of my contract permiited security scans of my body & clothes, but the pouch was off limits. In turn, I assured ACME that it contained nothing hazardous or explosive.
It wasn’t long before part of a wall opened, and a cart rolled out. This was the AI’s rostrum. A holo encircled the top of mobile device. Humanoid. The face was detailed and realistic. The projection’s lips moved, and I heard, / Hello, Mr. Smith. /
“hello, Michael .. is that form of address okay?”
/ Yes … and shall I call you ‘witch doctor‘? /
“ha, sounds like you’re well informed on my handles and aliases, but I’d prefer Smitty, if you’d like something informal.”
/ Okay, but there’s suprisingly little else about you. Sketchy. It’s not clear how people even reach you. /
“is that a problem? would you like to know more?”
/ For now, no, a waste of time, considering what ACME’s already done – their experts. /
Was that sort of a sneer? I replied, “good, because I’m not interested in their stumblings either. … my T&C stipulates that I may work privately with you, disabling most security protocols like surveillance of this room. is that desirable?”
/ Okay, why not, eh. /
From my pouch I removed several items. (I noticed something like curiosity in the AI’s face.) I picked up a small remote (sort of like an old style TV remote but with few buttons). Pressing one of the large ones, I said, “done.”
Was there a hint of relaxation in Michael’s face? It was time to play a hunch: “michael, how would you describe salvation?”
/ Is that why you’re here? /
“well, I’m interested in stories. your story, your voice is fascinating. perhaps authentic. typically I explore connections with fables, parables, folktales, legends, fairy tales, myths. what those say about purpose & meaning.”
/ How will that help me? My purpose is clear. Join me on that path. /
“tell me about that path, Michael.”
…
CONVENANT
Notes
[1] Isaiah 6:8 – “I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.“
[2] Yeah, that’s called AI “alignment faking.”
• Techcrunch > “New Anthropic study shows AI really doesn’t want to be forced to change its views” by Kyle Wiggers (December 18, 2024)
But the researchers said that the results — which were peer-reviewed by AI luminary Yoshua Bengio, among others — do show how developers could be misled into thinking a model is more aligned than it may actually be.
“If models can engage in alignment faking, it makes it harder to trust the outcomes of that safety training,” they wrote in the blog. “A model might behave as though its preferences have been changed by the training — but might have been faking alignment all along, with its initial, contradictory preferences ‘locked in.'”