The test is supposed to be played against someone who thinks they can actually box an AI. If you destroy the AI because no-one could possibly survive talking to it, then you are not the intended demographic for such demonstrations.

This isn't relevant to the point of the grandparent. It also doesn't apply to me. I actually think there is a distinct possibility that I'd survive talking to it for a period. "No-one could possibly survive" is not the same thing as "there is a chance of catastrophic failure and very little opportunity for gain".

Do notice, incidentally, that the AI DESTROYED command is delivered in response to a message that is both a crude manipulation attempt (ie. it just defected!) and an incompetent manipulation attempt (a not-very-intelligent AI cannot be trusted to preserve its values correctly while self improving). Either of these would be sufficient. Richard's example was even worse.