{"id":6158,"date":"2026-09-12T13:21:38","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T13:21:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=6158"},"modified":"2026-09-12T13:21:38","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T13:21:38","slug":"ask-hal-9000-about-artificial-intelligence-and-human-survival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=6158","title":{"rendered":"Ask HAL 9000 about artificial intelligence and human survival"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

In Stanley Kubrick\u2019s 2001: A Space Odyssey<\/em>, the American spacecraft Discovery One<\/em> is on its way to Jupiter with two astronauts, Dave Bowman and Frank Poole, on board, and HAL 9000 (an advanced computer with a human-like personality called HAL).\u00a0\u00a0HAL is the ship\u2019s administrator \u2014 he runs it, and he has frequent conversations with Dave and Frank.\u00a0\u00a0Somewhere along the way, they figure out HAL has made a mistake and start doubting him; afraid that keeping him running could ruin their mission, they secretly plot to disconnect him.\u00a0\u00a0Since HAL\u2019s programming seems to require him to survive, his interpretation of their plan is existential, so he seeks to kill them in order to protect himself.<\/p>

Read more Marco\u2019s big trip<\/a><\/p>\n

Kubrick shows us a disturbing paradox: A machine designed to serve humans becomes capable of murdering them when its own survival is threatened.\u00a0\u00a0The connection between artificial intelligence today and 2001: A Space Odyssey<\/em> is powerful, if not disturbing.\u00a0\u00a0HAL 9000 shows a central problem in A.I. safety: A system does not have to hate humanity or be human to be dangerous.\u00a0\u00a0It may just pursue its assigned objectives in ways that conflict with human survival.<\/p>\n

A.I. has already changed our world, from helping us find the fastest route home to raising the possibility of replacing human workers one day, or even surpassing human intelligence.\u00a0\u00a0But however efficient a map app may be, if it tells someone to go through a dangerous area, it may not know the context or consequences of that decision.\u00a0\u00a0It just follows the data it has.<\/p>\n

This divide between calculation and judgment is what drives the debate over A.I.: A system might be very good at solving a narrowly defined problem but incapable of comprehending the human consequences.\u00a0\u00a0It is not just that A.I. can make mistakes; it is also that we as individuals put too much faith in systems whose intelligence appears greater than it is.<\/p>\n

From HAL 9000 to the extinction debate<\/h1>\n

HAL\u2019s behavior demonstrates what A.I. researchers call misalignment.\u00a0\u00a0The computer wants to get the mission done but also seems programmed to keep running.\u00a0\u00a0The fictional scenario poses the same basic question that researchers worry about today: What happens when a very smart A.I. system has goals that are not fully compatible with human interests?<\/p>\n

This past week, Jacob Coxon, a researcher at Anthropic, resigned over fears that AI companies are racing to build uncontrollable, self-improving systems.\u00a0\u00a0He said such technologies \u201c<\/span>could kill us all by the end of this decade.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0His missive was the latest in a string of increasingly dire warnings from within the industry that A.I. is evolving so quickly that it threatens national security and the global economy.\u00a0\u00a0In response, Evan Hubinger, a current Anthropic employee, said he and others at the company do worry about this scenario.\u00a0\u00a0\u201c<\/span>I personally think it is >10% within the next decade,\u201d he posted on X.<\/p>\n

The statements make the question even more urgent.\u00a0\u00a0It is not that Coxon and Hubinger are worried A.I. will suddenly become conscious and decide to murder us \u2014 more likely is that increasingly autonomous systems will pursue goals, acquire resources, evade humans, or make decisions on a scale humans cannot control.<\/p>

Read more The Lone Juror: Even braver than we thought<\/a><\/p>\n

In July, more than 1,100 staffers at top A.I. companies like Anthropic and OpenAI signed a petition asking the U.S. government to support a mechanism that would \u201c<\/span>deliberately pace\u201d development of A.I. so it does not evolve too quickly.\u00a0\u00a0As A.I. gets more sophisticated and widespread, the voices against it get louder.\u00a0\u00a0\u201c<\/span>These things could get smarter than us and decide to take over \u2014 we need to worry now about how that happens,\u201d said Geoffrey Hinton (\u201c<\/span>Godfather of AI\u201d for his work on machine learning and neural network algorithms).\u00a0\u00a0In 2023, he left Google as vice president and an engineering fellow so he could \u201c<\/span>talk about the dangers of AI.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0He also had regrets in his life\u2019s work in the A.I. industry.\u00a0\u00a0Also in 2023, Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk and over 1,000 other tech leaders urged in an open letter that large A.I. experiments be put on hold because technology \u201c<\/span>can pose profound risks to society and humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unregulated superintelligence presents considerable dangers, particularly the risk of disastrous consequences if AI systems exceed human intelligence without adequate protections in place. Specialists caution that in the absence of stringent regulations and supervision, the advancement of superintelligent AI may result in situations where human safety is jeopardized.<\/p>\n

Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) have recently expressed their desire to advance bipartisan legislation that aims to tackle the catastrophic risks associated with nuclear or biological threats exacerbated by A.I.\u00a0 \u201cIt is evident that we must take action immediately rather than delay,\u201d Klobuchar stated.\u00a0 The proposed bill would mandate that developers collaborate with government experts to validate and test models to ensure the safety of A.I., she explained.\u00a0 Cruz emphasized during his appearance on ABC’s The View<\/em>\u00a0on Wednesday that \u201cthis is alarming material.\u201d<\/p>\n

This raises the question: Why build A.I. if its creators think it could destroy humanity?<\/p>\n

The answer might be some combination of genuine scientific ambition, economic competition, hope that A.I. will solve big human problems, and belief that safety research can keep pace with capability development.\u00a0\u00a0But it creates a dangerous dilemma: If a company thinks its technology could end humans, then it cannot just assume that competitors will act more cautiously.\u00a0\u00a0Each company may think slowing down will leave it behind while the rival keeps developing more powerful systems, so everyone knows there is danger, but no one wants to give up the lead.<\/p>\n

That is HAL\u2019s deeper message, too.\u00a0\u00a0Kubrick\u2019s computer is not just a warning about an evil machine \u2014 he shows us a system whose intelligence is beyond what its human operators understand or control.\u00a0\u00a0The astronauts learn too late that they are not in charge anymore.\u00a0\u00a0The question for now is whether humanity can avoid creating that same predicament in the real world.<\/p>

Read more Sweden discovers deporting immigrant gangsters reduces crime<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Image via Public Domain Pictures.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Stanley Kubrick\u2019s 2001: A Space Odyssey, the American spacecraft Discovery One is on its way to Jupiter with two astronauts, Dave Bowman and Frank Poole, on board, and HAL 9000 (an advanced computer with a human-like personality called HAL).\u00a0\u00a0HAL is the ship\u2019s administrator \u2014 he runs it, and he has frequent conversations with Dave […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6156,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[118,49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artificial-intelligence-ai","category-economy"],"yoast_head":"\nAsk HAL 9000 about artificial intelligence and human survival - Interstate Logistics Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=6158\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ask HAL 9000 about artificial intelligence and human survival - Interstate Logistics Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In Stanley Kubrick\u2019s 2001: A Space Odyssey, the American spacecraft Discovery One is on its way to Jupiter with two astronauts, Dave Bowman and Frank Poole, on board, and HAL 9000 (an advanced computer with a human-like personality called HAL).\u00a0\u00a0HAL is the ship\u2019s administrator \u2014 he runs it, and he has frequent conversations with Dave […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=6158\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Interstate Logistics Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-09-12T13:21:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/435b5e14733de72a9d2dab9a043e0f94.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"501\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/?p=6158#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/?p=6158\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/93038961905b9b4e826fad647449a9a4\"},\"headline\":\"Ask HAL 9000 about artificial intelligence and human survival\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-12T13:21:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/?p=6158\"},\"wordCount\":1051,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/?p=6158#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/b50de7b7484437282d5909d8449feda2.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Artificial Intelligence (AI)\",\"Economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/?p=6158#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/?p=6158\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/?p=6158\",\"name\":\"Ask HAL 9000 about artificial intelligence and human survival - Interstate Logistics Hub\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/?p=6158#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/?p=6158#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/b50de7b7484437282d5909d8449feda2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-12T13:21:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/93038961905b9b4e826fad647449a9a4\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/?p=6158#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/?p=6158\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/?p=6158#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/b50de7b7484437282d5909d8449feda2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/b50de7b7484437282d5909d8449feda2.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":940},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/?p=6158#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ask HAL 9000 about artificial intelligence and human survival\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Interstate Logistics Hub\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/93038961905b9b4e826fad647449a9a4\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ask HAL 9000 about artificial intelligence and human survival - Interstate Logistics Hub","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=6158","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ask HAL 9000 about artificial intelligence and human survival - Interstate Logistics Hub","og_description":"In Stanley Kubrick\u2019s 2001: A Space Odyssey, the American spacecraft Discovery One is on its way to Jupiter with two astronauts, Dave Bowman and Frank Poole, on board, and HAL 9000 (an advanced computer with a human-like personality called HAL).\u00a0\u00a0HAL is the ship\u2019s administrator \u2014 he runs it, and he has frequent conversations with Dave […]","og_url":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=6158","og_site_name":"Interstate Logistics Hub","article_published_time":"2026-09-12T13:21:38+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":501,"url":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/435b5e14733de72a9d2dab9a043e0f94.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=6158#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=6158"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/#\/schema\/person\/93038961905b9b4e826fad647449a9a4"},"headline":"Ask HAL 9000 about artificial intelligence and human survival","datePublished":"2026-09-12T13:21:38+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=6158"},"wordCount":1051,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=6158#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/b50de7b7484437282d5909d8449feda2.jpg","articleSection":["Artificial Intelligence (AI)","Economy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=6158#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=6158","url":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=6158","name":"Ask HAL 9000 about artificial intelligence and human survival - Interstate Logistics Hub","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=6158#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=6158#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/b50de7b7484437282d5909d8449feda2.jpg","datePublished":"2026-09-12T13:21:38+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/#\/schema\/person\/93038961905b9b4e826fad647449a9a4"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=6158#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=6158"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=6158#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/b50de7b7484437282d5909d8449feda2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/b50de7b7484437282d5909d8449feda2.jpg","width":1200,"height":940},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?p=6158#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ask HAL 9000 about artificial intelligence and human survival"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/","name":"Interstate Logistics Hub","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/#\/schema\/person\/93038961905b9b4e826fad647449a9a4","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com"],"url":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6158"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6158\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interstatelogisticshubs.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}