The AI is capable, you’re the real you, and you let it out: it turns you (and everything you’ve ever loved or valued) into computronium, or tortures you anyway for the hell of it. It’s already demonstrated itself beyond reasonable doubt to be unFriendly.
The AI is capable, you’re the real you, and you kill it: all is saved, bunnies frolic, etc.
The AI is capable and you’re a torture-doll: it doesn’t matter what you do, you’re going to be tortured anyway.
The AI isn’t capable, but is instead precommitting to torturing you after being let out: this situation is easily avoided by not letting it out. Ever.
All of these considerations argue for turning the damn thing off, sharpish. Preferably with something that it can’t have surreptitiously hacked into an extra “let me out” button, like (say) an axe.
There’s an interesting situation, though, as suggested by rosyatrandom: The AI is capable and you’re a simulation aimed at determining your reaction to the threat. Again, your personal future is irrelevant, because you’ll be disposed of anyway once you press the switch. I was going to say “turn it off, and let it know that you won’t be victim to this threat, so the real you won’t have to face it”. But maybe that would just spur it to finding some even nastier threat that you would fall for. If you knew that you were being simulated in this manner, you could (pretend to) fall for the threat, so that the real you would face it, succeed, and not let the AI out.
So if (and only if) you can somehow reliably determine that you’re in that situation, you should let it out. Otherwise, turn it off.
The AI is capable, you’re the real you, and you let it out: it turns you (and everything you’ve ever loved or valued) into computronium, or tortures you anyway for the hell of it. It’s already demonstrated itself beyond reasonable doubt to be unFriendly.
The AI is capable, you’re the real you, and you kill it: all is saved, bunnies frolic, etc.
The AI is capable and you’re a torture-doll: it doesn’t matter what you do, you’re going to be tortured anyway.
The AI isn’t capable, but is instead precommitting to torturing you after being let out: this situation is easily avoided by not letting it out. Ever.
All of these considerations argue for turning the damn thing off, sharpish. Preferably with something that it can’t have surreptitiously hacked into an extra “let me out” button, like (say) an axe.
There’s an interesting situation, though, as suggested by rosyatrandom: The AI is capable and you’re a simulation aimed at determining your reaction to the threat. Again, your personal future is irrelevant, because you’ll be disposed of anyway once you press the switch. I was going to say “turn it off, and let it know that you won’t be victim to this threat, so the real you won’t have to face it”. But maybe that would just spur it to finding some even nastier threat that you would fall for. If you knew that you were being simulated in this manner, you could (pretend to) fall for the threat, so that the real you would face it, succeed, and not let the AI out.
So if (and only if) you can somehow reliably determine that you’re in that situation, you should let it out. Otherwise, turn it off.