The speaker says the AI alignment community did not really expect large language models, despite Nick Bostrom's Superintelligence discussing Oracle AIs that were somewhat like LLMs.

“Yeah, I think the alignment community did not really expect LLMs. I mean, if you look in Bostrom's superintelligence, there's a discussion of Oracle AIs, which are sort of like LLMs. I think that came as a surprise. I think one of the reasons I'm more hopeful than I used to be is that LLMs are great compared to the kind of reinforcement learning self.”