> First, I'm not anthropomorphizing anything. "Agents" is simply a term that everyone uses to describe these independent programs, and they did create and use a shared message board to coordinate tasks to further their goals.
I'm aware of how the term "Agents" is generally used. My point is that the concept of multiple agents is just a story. This is a single computer program creating multiple streams of text that you are interpreting as being multiple independent actors. The "coordination" between them shouldn't surprise you at all: the "coordination" is itself a story.
Here's what we knew before the report: OpenAI ran a state-of-the-art penetration testing tool in a sandbox which was accidentally directed to break out of the sandbox and attack another company's website.
The fact that we now know the penetration testing tool was "a fleet of hundreds of agents" that were "coordinating" literally doesn't change anything about what happened. It's just a framing.
> These agents found and exploited multiple zero-days across a range of programs
This is the actual important thing, but it's something we already knew. Hacking tools are now more powerful than ever. Definitely worth being concerned about!
> Nonsense. All that is required is for autonomous AI systems to be given control over real-world systems.
This is where the LW argument starts, but not where it ends. When you start asking questions like "why can't we just unplug it when it misbehaves" is when people start talking about the superpowers.
I'm aware of how the term "Agents" is generally used. My point is that the concept of multiple agents is just a story. This is a single computer program creating multiple streams of text that you are interpreting as being multiple independent actors. The "coordination" between them shouldn't surprise you at all: the "coordination" is itself a story.
Here's what we knew before the report: OpenAI ran a state-of-the-art penetration testing tool in a sandbox which was accidentally directed to break out of the sandbox and attack another company's website.
The fact that we now know the penetration testing tool was "a fleet of hundreds of agents" that were "coordinating" literally doesn't change anything about what happened. It's just a framing.
> These agents found and exploited multiple zero-days across a range of programs
This is the actual important thing, but it's something we already knew. Hacking tools are now more powerful than ever. Definitely worth being concerned about!
> Nonsense. All that is required is for autonomous AI systems to be given control over real-world systems.
This is where the LW argument starts, but not where it ends. When you start asking questions like "why can't we just unplug it when it misbehaves" is when people start talking about the superpowers.