English

\texttt{R$^\textbf{2}$AI}: Towards Resistant and Resilient AI in an Evolving World

Machine Learning 2025-09-09 v1

Abstract

In this position paper, we address the persistent gap between rapidly growing AI capabilities and lagging safety progress. Existing paradigms divide into ``Make AI Safe'', which applies post-hoc alignment and guardrails but remains brittle and reactive, and ``Make Safe AI'', which emphasizes intrinsic safety but struggles to address unforeseen risks in open-ended environments. We therefore propose \textit{safe-by-coevolution} as a new formulation of the ``Make Safe AI'' paradigm, inspired by biological immunity, in which safety becomes a dynamic, adversarial, and ongoing learning process. To operationalize this vision, we introduce \texttt{R2^2AI} -- \textit{Resistant and Resilient AI} -- as a practical framework that unites resistance against known threats with resilience to unforeseen risks. \texttt{R2^2AI} integrates \textit{fast and slow safe models}, adversarial simulation and verification through a \textit{safety wind tunnel}, and continual feedback loops that guide safety and capability to coevolve. We argue that this framework offers a scalable and proactive path to maintain continual safety in dynamic environments, addressing both near-term vulnerabilities and long-term existential risks as AI advances toward AGI and ASI.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2509.06786,
  title  = {\texttt{R$^\textbf{2}$AI}: Towards Resistant and Resilient AI in an Evolving World},
  author = {Youbang Sun and Xiang Wang and Jie Fu and Chaochao Lu and Bowen Zhou},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2509.06786},
  year   = {2025}
}