prisoner's dilemma

proper noun

A thought experiment involving two rational agents, each of whom can either cooperate for mutual benefit or betray their partner (“defect”) for individual gain.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

proper noun
  1. computingA thought experiment involving two rational agents, each of whom can either cooperate for mutual benefit or betray their partner (“defect”) for individual gain.

    Meanwhile, companies find themselves in a classic prisoner’s dilemma. It is collectively in everyone’s interest to slow down AI development until we have a better handle on the technology. But each participant in the “AI race” has a strong incentive to defect.

    2026 September 16, Shakeel Hashim, “The US government is failing Americans on AI”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

Translations

German Gefangenendilemma
  • GefangenendilemmaTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

prisoner's dilemma. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prisoner's%20dilemma

MLA

“prisoner's dilemma.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prisoner's%20dilemma. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “prisoner's dilemma,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prisoner's%20dilemma.

Source: prisoner's dilemma on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.