RS Glossary
Alignment
Alignment is the effort to make an AI system's objectives, behavior, and effects remain consistent with the intentions, values, constraints, and legitimate authority governing its use.
- Review state
- Reviewed in POC
- Freshness
- Current
- Version
- 2
- Alignment
- AI Alignment
Remember it this wayThe system must pursue the real goal within legitimate boundaries.
In plain language
A system can follow a narrow metric while missing the real purpose of the work. Alignment asks whether it is pursuing the right outcome in acceptable ways and under appropriate human control.
Why it matters
Misalignment can arise from objectives, data, incentives, instructions, tools, deployment context, or changing conditions. It is a system problem, not only a model-training problem.
Example
A service bot optimized only to shorten calls closes unresolved cases, improving the metric while harming the customer outcome.
Common misconception
Alignment is not a single solved test or a promise that everyone shares one value system. It requires explicit context, governance, monitoring, and revision.
Related terms
Sources
- OpenAI, *Our approach to alignment research*primary developer account describing alignment as making AI systems follow human intent and values while acknowledging unresolved sociotechnical questions.
- UK AI Security Institute, Research Agendagovernment research agenda treating alignment as the reliability with which AI systems behave as intended and examining the limits of current approaches.
Learn more
- Compare intended outcomes with [[larger-business-context|Larger Business Context]] and [[objective-escape|Objective Escape]].
Public history
45 recorded events · 45 public summaries
A potential shared concept was discussed and selected for initial glossary drafting.
The captured candidate received a complete initial draft and entered section-level human review.
Radar reviewed the initial definition draft for human consideration.
Radar reviewed the initial plain-language-explanation draft for human consideration.
Radar reviewed the initial why-it-matters draft for human consideration.
Radar reviewed the initial example draft for human consideration.
Radar reviewed the initial common-misconception draft for human consideration.
Radar reviewed the initial remember-it-this-way draft for human consideration.
Radar reviewed the initial related-terms draft for human consideration.
Radar reviewed the initial sources draft for human consideration.
Radar reviewed the initial learn-more draft for human consideration.
A proposal was opened for section-level human review while preserving the current version.
A human reviewer opened a proposed revision while preserving the current approved or captured version.
definition approved by a human reviewer.
plain-language-explanation approved by a human reviewer.
why-it-matters approved by a human reviewer.
example approved by a human reviewer.
common-misconception approved by a human reviewer.
remember-it-this-way approved by a human reviewer.
related-terms approved by a human reviewer.
sources returned for revision.
learn-more approved by a human reviewer.
Requested wording was prepared without changing approved or existing sections.
Radar reviewed the pending sources section for human consideration.
Radar must rereview the complete alignment term after an accepted text change.
Radar must rereview the complete alignment term after an accepted text change.
Radar must rereview the complete alignment term after an accepted text change.
Radar must rereview the complete alignment term after an accepted text change.
Radar must rereview the complete alignment term after an accepted text change.
Radar must rereview the complete alignment term after an accepted text change.
Radar must rereview the complete alignment term after an accepted text change.
Radar must rereview the complete alignment term after an accepted text change.
Radar must rereview the complete alignment term after an accepted text change.
sources approved by a human reviewer.
sources approved wording became the current section text.
All section gates are approved; content version 2 is now a fully approved term.
Radar rereviewed the human-approved definition wording for this exact version.
Radar rereviewed the human-approved plain-language-explanation wording for this exact version.
Radar rereviewed the human-approved why-it-matters wording for this exact version.
Radar rereviewed the human-approved example wording for this exact version.
Radar rereviewed the human-approved common-misconception wording for this exact version.
Radar rereviewed the human-approved remember-it-this-way wording for this exact version.
Radar rereviewed the human-approved related-terms wording for this exact version.
Radar rereviewed the human-approved sources wording for this exact version.
Radar rereviewed the human-approved learn-more wording for this exact version.
Source: vault/Glossary/terms/alignment/term.md · sha256:3d4ac1714e2e81878d8656026facac8194957a93838a9f870b6bda0189e1e993 · Release: rs-glossary-glossary-team-poc-0.5.5-2026-09-02