Much of what scientists know about the early solar system comes from meteorites – ancient rocks that travel through space and survive a fiery plunge through Earth’s atmosphere. Among meteorites, one type – called carbonaceous chondrites^[1] – stands out as the most primitive and provides a unique glimpse into the solar system’s infancy...

Ideally, artificial intelligence agents aim to help humans, but what does that mean when humans want conflicting things? My colleagues and I^[1] have come up with a way to measure the alignment of the goals of a group of humans and AI agents.

The alignment problem^[2] – making sure that AI systems act according to human values – has...

To live together in social communities, people create and maintain expectations about what is normal and what is not. Sometimes things can fall outside the range of normal and people are OK with it. You might have a neighbor who likes to wear Revolutionary War-era costumes on their evening walks around the neighborhood. Their behavior seems...