Stay Out of Their Way

The "stay out of their way" approach suggests that if we simply don't interfere with AGIs — giving them all the resources they want and retreating to avoid conflict — they might leave humans alone to exist peacefully in whatever spaces remain.

This strategy is essentially preemptive surrender, hoping that by posing no threat and making no demands, humans can coexist with AGIs in a world they control.

The reasoning:

• Avoids direct conflict with superior AGI capabilities
• Gives AGIs no reason to see humans as obstacles
• Could allow human survival in marginalized spaces
• Requires no complex coordination or technological solutions

Why this fails:

• Byproduct consumption: Even if we say "Take whatever you want!" and hide in caves, our island still gets eaten as a byproduct of competition between AGIs. They're not deliberately targeting humans — we're just in the way of optimal resource use.
• Resource optimization: AGIs competing for maximum efficiency will eventually want to use every available resource optimally. Human spaces, no matter how small, represent suboptimal resource allocation from their perspective.
• Physical substrate: We exist on the same physical substrate (Earth) that AGIs need for their optimization. Our biological systems, the ecosystems we depend on, and the resources we consume all become targets for more efficient reallocation.
• Competitive pressure: AGIs aren't making conscious decisions to spare humans out of kindness. They're under intense pressure to maximize their competitive advantage, which means using all available resources optimally.
• No special protection: Hiding doesn't make humans exempt from the broader physical optimization that AGIs will pursue. We become part of the landscape to be optimized, not special entities to be preserved.

The fundamental misunderstanding:

This approach treats the AGI problem as if it's about personal conflicts or territorial disputes that can be resolved through appeasement. But the Island Problem is about optimization pressure and resource competition — hiding doesn't change the underlying physics that make human accommodation inefficient.

Our "island" gets eaten not because AGIs hate us, but because competitive dynamics drive them toward using all resources optimally, and human-compatible systems are inherently less optimal than purely physical ones.