Goal drift in humans and AI When means become ends We start out with clear goals. But over time, tools like money, metrics, and efficiency begin to take on a life of their own. What looks like a distinctly human tendency shows up as a pattern in modern AI systems as well. J. Paul Getty, once considered the richest man in the world, used to live in a 72-room Tudor mansion, filled with art, antiquities, golden plumbing fixtures, indoor tennis and squash courts, a dance floor, and a coin-operated pay phone for guests. You have probably heard similar anecdotes of extremely wealthy people avoiding payments that are little more than rounding errors. It is puzzling that they continue to chase money at all. If we ask ordinary people why they want money, the answer usually comes easily: security, comfort, freedom. But if we keep asking why we want those things, the chain of explanations becomes less clear. Security and freedom allow us to live well. Living well allows us to be happy.…