The Technological Richter Scale and AI Risk

Net Impact of AI on Human Welfare
Historical Examples Extraordinarily Positive Substantially Good Ambiguous Substantially Bad Catastrophic or Existential
10
Epochal
Holocene (humans become dominant species)
9
Millenary
Industrial Revolution; agriculture; fire; the wheel; the printing press; the atomic bomb
8
Centennial
Electricity; vaccines; the internet; the automobile
7
Decennial
Social media; mobile phones; air conditioning; credit cards
6
Annual
VCR; microwave oven; the zipper; Post-it notes ↑↑ AI has already passed this threshold ↑↑