The Prisoner's Dilemma

...And Why an AI "Pause" Won't Happen

Two members of a criminal gang are captured and held in solitary confinement, each completely isolated from the other. The authorities don't possess enough evidence to convict them on their most severe crime, but they can secure a one-year sentence on a lesser charge.

But the police aren't satisfied with this result. They offer each prisoner a devilish deal: betray your accomplice and go free, leaving them to rot in jail with a life sentence. The same offer is extended to both Prisoner A and Prisoner B. However, if both betray each other, they each receive a ten-year sentence. The choice they make cannot be changed once it's made, and they won't know the other's decision until after they've made their own.

This dilemma gives rise to four potential outcomes:

1. If A and B both remain silent, they each serve one year in prison.

2. If A betrays B but B remains silent, A goes free while B faces a life sentence.

3. If A stays silent but B betrays A, A gets a life sentence while B goes free.

4. If A and B bo…