Well, there are many ways it could turn out to be that making Kludge AI safe is the less-impossible option. The way I had in mind was that maybe goal stability and value-loading turn out to be surprisingly feasible with Kludge AI, and you really can just “bolt on” Friendliness. I suppose another way making Kludge AI safe could be the less-impossible option is if it turns out to be possible to keep superintelligences boxed indefinitely but also use them to keep non-boxed superintelligences from being boxed, or something. In which case boxing research would be more relevant.
Well, there are many ways it could turn out to be that making Kludge AI safe is the less-impossible option. The way I had in mind was that maybe goal stability and value-loading turn out to be surprisingly feasible with Kludge AI, and you really can just “bolt on” Friendliness. I suppose another way making Kludge AI safe could be the less-impossible option is if it turns out to be possible to keep superintelligences boxed indefinitely but also use them to keep non-boxed superintelligences from being boxed, or something. In which case boxing research would be more relevant.