Research in plain words

Two current projects by Allan C. Stam (University of Virginia), retold in plain language for readers without a background in political science or computer security. Each one can be read here in your browser or downloaded as a PDF, and the technical version it retells can be downloaded beside it. Both are working drafts and will change.

Running Through the Rain: Speed, Secrecy and Risk in the AI Cyber Transition

A plain guide to speed, secrecy and risk as AI learns to break code (illustrated edition)

The plain-language companion to the working paper of the same name. Where the paper is unsure, so is this guide.

Read online · Download PDF (2 MB) · Download technical version (PDF, 4 MB)

What the Study of War, and History’s Geniuses, Can and Can’t Tell Us About AI Doom

The plain-language edition, illustrated

Suppose a machine far smarter than any person wants what the study of war assumes its actors want: more power and a longer life. Then the theory’s verdict is bleak. If it wants what history’s greatest minds seem to have wanted, the verdict changes, but less than one might hope. (The opening of the book.)

Read online · Download PDF (5 MB) · Download technical version (PDF, 1.5 MB)

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