processes before it produces a response.  

●  Scaffold: Software program that structures the information flow, leaving the model itself 

unchanged.   

o  For example, a scaffold allows GPT-4 to power the autonomous AI agent 

AutoGPT. The scaffold prompts GPT-4 to: break down a high-level task into sub-
tasks, assign sub-tasks to other copies of itself, save important information to 
memory, and browse the internet. 

●  Risk factors: Elements or conditions that can increase downstream risks. For example, 
weak guardrails (risk factor) could enable an actor to misuse an AI system to perform a 
cyber attack (downstream risk). 

●  Weights: parameters in a model are akin to adjustable dials in the algorithm, tweaked 
during training to help the model make accurate predictions or decisions based on input 
data, ensuring it learns from patterns and information it has seen before. 

30Frontier AI – Capabilities and Risks 

Annex A – Future Risks of Frontier AI (attached)
Capabilities and risks from frontier AI 