undefined | Better HN

0 pointswombatmobile4y ago0 comments

> the goal is to do better

Why is that "the" goal?

Who sets "the" goal?

0 comments

Its the goal of the LessWrong/Rationalist community.

Less Wrong seems to be a manifestation of a thing that comes in cycles: Something triggers the rise of a "rationalist" movement, including possibly a new evangelist or a new medium. Eventually, rationalism and rational people end up at a standoff. Then the whole thing repeats itself after a period of time.

I'm probably rational enough but also can't make sense of much of the rationalist literature, so I simply follow my own compass and hope for the best. I'm skeptical of Bayes Theater.

JohnPrine4y ago

The goal is to make decisions that are "better" as defined by your own utility function given limited information. This is also called "winning"

Nav_Panel4y ago

Yudkowsky and other prominent contributors set "the" goal as a sort of revealed wisdom regarding their speculations about what a super powerful AI will do.

Pragmatically, the goals themselves appeal to individuals who want to maintain conventional (liberal) morality yet also position themselves as superior, typically as a form of compensation.

nitrogen4y ago

position themselves as superior

This is why we can't have nice things. Any time someone tries to find more effective ways of making good decisions or accomplishing their goals, someone has to bring out the most tortured cynical interpretation to tear them down.

Nav_Panel4y ago

Have you hung out much with rationalists?

2 more replies

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

voxic114y ago

Its the goal of the LessWrong/Rationalist community.

analog314y ago

I'm probably rational enough but also can't make sense of much of the rationalist literature, so I simply follow my own compass and hope for the best. I'm skeptical of Bayes Theater.

JohnPrine4y ago

The goal is to make decisions that are "better" as defined by your own utility function given limited information. This is also called "winning"

Nav_Panel4y ago

Yudkowsky and other prominent contributors set "the" goal as a sort of revealed wisdom regarding their speculations about what a super powerful AI will do.

Pragmatically, the goals themselves appeal to individuals who want to maintain conventional (liberal) morality yet also position themselves as superior, typically as a form of compensation.

nitrogen4y ago

position themselves as superior

Nav_Panel4y ago

Have you hung out much with rationalists?

2 more replies

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse