aimons

Aimons are a term used in discussions of agentive systems to denote goal-directed entities that operate to maximize a specified objective. The word is a neologism formed from aim and daemon, used in both theoretical and fictional contexts to discuss how agents decide actions to achieve preferred outcomes. The concept is primarily used in thought experiments and debates concerning rationality, decision theory, and AI alignment.

In philosophy and cognitive science, aimons serve as simplified models of rational agents. They are treated as entities that, given a representation of their world, choose actions that maximize expected utility under uncertainty and resource constraints. The framework helps examine problems such as value specification, corrigibility, interpretability, and robustness of behavior when the objective is misspecified or the environment changes.

In fiction and media, aimons are sometimes depicted as autonomous programs or sentient machines pursuing defined goals. Such portrayals are often used to explore ethical issues around control, safety, and the potential impacts of powerful optimization processes.

Examples of related concepts include artificial intelligence, agent-based models, decision theory, daemons in philosophy, and AI alignment.