The scope of AI safety and alignment work in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has so far mostly been limited to harms related to: (a) discrimination and hate speech, (b) harmful/inappropriate (violent, sexual, illegal) content, (c) information hazards, and (d) use cases related to malicious actors, such as cybersecurity, child abuse, and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats. The public conversation around AI, on the other hand, has also been focusing on threats to our cognition, mental health, and welfare at large, related to over-relying on new technologies, most recently, those related to GenAI. Examples include deskilling associated with cognitive offloading and the atrophy of critical thinking as a result of over-reliance on GenAI systems, and addiction associated with attachment and dependence on GenAI systems. Such risks are rarely addressed, if at all, in the AI safety and alignment literature. In this paper, we highlight and quantify this discrepancy and discuss some initial thoughts on how safety and alignment work could address cognitive and mental health concerns. Finally, we discuss how information campaigns and regulation can be used to mitigate such prominent risks.

翻译：人工智能安全与对齐工作在生成式人工智能领域的范畴迄今主要局限于以下危害：（a）歧视与仇恨言论；（b）有害/不当（暴力、色情、非法）内容；（c）信息危害；（d）与恶意行为者相关的用例，如网络安全、儿童虐待、化学、生物、放射及核威胁。另一方面，围绕AI的公众讨论则持续聚焦于过度依赖新技术（尤其是最新生成式AI技术）对认知、心理健康及整体福祉的威胁，例如：因认知卸载与批判性思维萎缩导致的技能退化（源于对生成式AI系统的过度依赖），以及因对生成式AI系统产生依恋与依赖引发的成瘾问题。此类风险在AI安全与对齐文献中鲜少被提及（即便涉及也极为有限）。本文着重凸显并量化这一研究空白，初步探讨安全与对齐工作如何应对认知与心理健康层面的关切，最后论述如何通过信息宣传与监管机制来缓解这些显著风险。