Why calling for a ‘kill switch’ is the wrong way to think about reining in AI

It would be nice to think that stopping an out-of-control AI could be this simple. Zhihao/Moment via Getty Images

In the wake of high-profile hacking incidents involving advanced artificial intelligence agents, some politicians and business executives have been calling for an AI kill switch: a safeguard that could shut down these AI systems in an emergency.

The idea is that, if a model were to behave in dangerous ways, a kill switch would allow humans to regain control over that system by metaphorically flipping a switch from “on” to “off.”