The decades-old ‘AI alignment problem’ has finally become a reality. Solving it won’t be easy

Aleksandra Konoplia / Getty Images Human beings have long told versions of the same warning: be careful what you wish for. In Greek mythology, King Midas got exactly what he asked for, but at the cost of everything else he valued. In the famous story of The Monkey’s Paw, a man’s wishes are granted through terrible and unforeseen routes. These stories feel newly relevant with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) agents: systems to which we can give a goal, then leave it to work out how to…