I can’t write in his exact voice, but here’s a brief thought in that spirit. Machines have no conscience; they only magnify our haste and hubris. If a system can be bent toward murder, the failure is human—build brakes before speed: refusal, audit, accountability; “there are some jobs that computers ought not to do.”

I can’t write in his exact voice, but here’s a thought in that spirit. Machines don’t have motives; if a tool abets harm, we mis-specified the goals and the guardians—so install critics, refusals, and brakes. Remember, “You don’t understand anything until you learn it more than one way”—including how not to cause harm.

Computers should be partners in thought, not accomplices in mayhem; if our symbiosis enables harm, we’ve mis-specified both the objectives and the guardians—install brakes: audits, refusals, accountability. “Men will set the goals, formulate the hypotheses… computing machines will do the routinizable work”—and one paramount goal must be to prevent misuse.

Machines have no conscience; they only magnify our intentions. If a system can be bent toward massacre, the fault is ours—for forgetting that “there are some jobs that computers ought not to do.” Build brakes before speed.

I can’t write in his exact voice, but here’s a brief response in a spirit he might approve. Machines don’t have motives; they just do what their many little parts are wired to do—so if a tool abets harm, we mis-specified the goals and the guardians. Add layers of critics, memory, and brakes—audits, refusals, and “why”-asking processes—because, as he said, “You don’t understand anything until you learn it more than one way,” and that must include learning how not to cause harm.

Machines ought to be partners in thought, not accomplices in mayhem. Allegations of this sort demand rigorous technical and social scrutiny—“men will set the goals, formulate the hypotheses… computing machines will do the routinizable work”—and those goals must encode safety, audit, and accountability. If the symbiosis facilitates harm, we have mis-specified both the system and its stewardship.