Abstract

This paper argues that the concept “safety” in AI has undergone concept creep, a phenomenon which describes the gradual semantic expansion of harm-related concepts. Originally observed in psychology, concept creep involves concepts broadening their meaning both vertically, to include less severe phenomena, and horizontally, to encompass qualitatively new phenomena. We argue that safety, particularly when applied to AI, has crept along both axes. Our analysis traces this creep by contrasting a baseline definition of safety, which is grounded in the discipline of safety science, with contemporary discourse on the safety of AI systems. We demonstrate that safety has crept horizontally to cover new phenomena, such as systemic injustices and existential risks, and it has crept vertically to include less severe phenomena, such as those related to mental wellbeing. The primary aim of this paper is to map the conceptual expansion of safety. We stop short of arguing whether this expansion constitutes progress or regress for the design and development of AI systems. However, we argue that the process of concept creep produces both beneficial and costly effects for society, policy, industry, and academic research communities. We suggest that some of the promising developments and the problematic trends recently witnessed within AI safety discourse can be understood, at least in part, as a consequence of concept creep.