Models of catastrophic risks can be conjunctive or disjunctive. A conjunctive risk model is one in which the disaster is caused by the co-occurrence of multiple conditions (). In a conjunctive model, the probability of the disaster is less than or equal to the probabilities of the individual conditions. By contrast, a disjunctive risk model is one in which the disaster occurs as a result of any of several conditions holding (). In a disjunctive model, the probability of the disaster is greater than or equal to the probabilities of the individual conditions.
Examples of conjunctive and disjunctive risk models of AI risk:
Both types of models are simplifying assumptions. In reality, a disaster can be caused by multiple conditions that interact conjunctively and disjunctively. For example, a disaster could occur if conditions and are true, or if condition is true: .
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