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# If a "Kickstarter for Inadequate Equlibria" was built, do you have a concrete inadequate equilibrium to fix?
[Yoav Ravid asks](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/98HihPxpoRFja2JNF/is-there-an-assurance-contract-website-in-work): "Is there an assurance-contract website in work?"
i.e. a site where, if there's a locally ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/fQkzGfRoL82XX4cPr/if-a-kickstarter-for-inadequate-equlibria-was-built-do-you |
# How could "Kickstarter for Inadequate Equilibria" be used for evil or turn out to be net-negative?
Following up to "[If a "Kickstarter for Inadequate Equlibria" was built, do you have a concrete inadequate equilibrium to fix?](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/fQkzGfRoL82XX4cPr/if-a-kickstarter-for-inadequate-equlibri... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/wEfFa4tJ6YWyjufKt/how-could-kickstarter-for-inadequate-equilibria-be-used-for |
# Alignment Newsletter #46
Find all Alignment Newsletter resources [here](http://rohinshah.com/alignment-newsletter/). In particular, you can [sign up](http://eepurl.com/dqMSZj), or look through this [spreadsheet](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PwWbWZ6FPqAgZWOoOcXM8N_tUCuxpEyMbN1NYYC02aM/edit?usp=sharing) of ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/NeJnFmeNAXACASX8P/alignment-newsletter-46 |
# "Other people are wrong" vs "I am right"
I’ve recently been spending some time thinking about the rationality mistakes I’ve made in the past. Here’s an interesting one: I think I have historically been too hasty to go from “other people seem very wrong on this topic” to “I am right on this topic”.
Throughout my lif... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/4QemtxDFaGXyGSrGD/other-people-are-wrong-vs-i-am-right |
# Can HCH epistemically dominate Ramanujan?
[Srinivasa Ramanujan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srinivasa_Ramanujan) is an Indian mathematician who is famously known for solving math problems with sudden and inexplicable flashes of insight. From his Wikipedia page:
> Imagine that you are on a street with houses marke... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/4qY9zEHLa2su4PkQ4/can-hch-epistemically-dominate-ramanujan |
# Informal Post on Motivation
_This post began with a few thoughts I wanted to share on [my newly created short-form feed](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/LvDekdqFuFnoxx8DF/ruby-s-shortform-feed). In order to convey those few thoughts, I found myself writing out a lot more of my general thinking about motivation. Even... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/YwQgicuJHzgCK2J9E/informal-post-on-motivation |
# Rationalist Vipassana Meditation Retreat
Vipassana: Silent Meditation with group exchange for and with rationalists! Details see flyer: http://www.das-buddhistische-haus.de/pages/images/stories/dokumente-deutsch/Vipassana_retreat_Julia_Harfensteller_BH_12062019.pdf (the flyer has different dates, it's for a differen... | https://www.lesswrong.com/events/4cmfR7cd69W2xkexF/rationalist-vipassana-meditation-retreat |
# Humans Who Are Not Concentrating Are Not General Intelligences
Recently, OpenAI came out with a [new language model](https://blog.openai.com/better-language-models/) that automatically synthesizes text, called GPT-2.
It’s disturbingly good. You can see some examples (cherry-picked, by their own admission) in OpenA... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/4AHXDwcGab5PhKhHT/humans-who-are-not-concentrating-are-not-general |
# Disclosing the unsaid
My colleagues often mock me for my faith in human sciences, "Studying cultures and people in the age of algorithms, you just need data and machine learning model" they said. I've been an engineer by profession for a decade, but to develop new perspectives on the characteristics of our product, ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/5TNQHmjvaDih5PMZX/disclosing-the-unsaid |
# How good is a human's gut judgement at guessing someone's IQ?
In her latest post, Sarah Constantin writes:
> Whatever ability IQ tests and math tests measure, I believe that lacking that ability doesn’t have _any _effect on one’s ability to make a good social impression or even to “seem smart” in conversation.
I r... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/KFWA9dMFAnic56Zt3/how-good-is-a-human-s-gut-judgement-at-guessing-someone-s-iq |
# Native mental representations that give huge speedups on problems?
[x-post from r/slatestarcodex]
Is there a list/textbook of immediately usable mental representations like memory palaces?
I'm not talking about theoretical models of cognitive processes here (although they might suggest entire classes of the sort o... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/KE47TFBhNPPsan8Tp/native-mental-representations-that-give-huge-speedups-on |
# New versions of posts in "Map and Territory" and "How To Actually Change Your Mind" are up (also, new revision system)
A few weeks ago [MIRI released](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/NjFgqv8bzjhXFaELP/new-edition-of-rationality-from-ai-to-zombies) new editions of the "Map and Territory" and "How To Actually Change Y... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/c7EjFK8yTBwdHewrg/new-versions-of-posts-in-map-and-territory-and-how-to |
# Where to find Base Rates?
As we are all aware from _Thinking, Fast and Slow,_ one of the largest decision-making errors we make is the [Base Rate Fallacy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Base_rate_fallacy). Just to remind you - the error is that we don't correctly apply probability reference classes to ourselves.
Two... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/wM6QbQz27Qo9N8nyg/where-to-find-base-rates |
# RAISE is launching their MVP
After over a year of [building the organisation](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ATQ23FREp9S4hpiHc/raising-funds-to-establish-a-new-ai-safety-charity) and working and reworking the product, I’m glad to announce that [RAISE](https://aisafety.info/) will begin publishing lessons on a regul... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/WgnAEXw5fXaW9p5PS/raise-is-launching-their-mvp |
# Knowing I’m Being Tricked is Barely Enough
I think it was in Terry Pratchett’s _Going Postal_ that a con man mused that the easiest people to rip off were other con men, or at least those who aspired to be so, because all you had to do was make it look like they were taking advantage of you. Honest men wouldn’t fall... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/cDZLoKMwhzJA7PfGz/knowing-i-m-being-tricked-is-barely-enough |
# How to get value learning and reference wrong
Six months ago, I thought I was on to something interesting involving value learning and philosophy of reference. Then I had a series of breakthroughs - or do you still call it a breakthrough when it reveals that you were on the wrong track? Reverse breakthrough? How abo... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/NcahJFd5S5RNupxFT/how-to-get-value-learning-and-reference-wrong |
# Is LessWrong a "classic style intellectual world"?
Robin Hanson just published a post titled "[Classic Style Intellectual World](http://www.overcomingbias.com/2019/02/classic-style-intellectual-worlds.html)". It's short, so I recommend reading it, as it sets up this question, but in short it suggests that many intel... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/vcG85FJPGsjmiqwnB/is-lesswrong-a-classic-style-intellectual-world |
# Rule Thinkers In, Not Out
Imagine a black box which, when you pressed a button, would generate a scientific hypothesis. 50% of its hypotheses are false; 50% are true hypotheses as game-changing and elegant as relativity. Even despite the error rate, it’s easy to see this box would quickly surpass space capsules, da ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/u8GMcpEN9Z6aQiCvp/rule-thinkers-in-not-out |
# So You Want to Colonize The Universe
_Epistemic Status: Mix of facts, far-future-speculation with the inevitable biases from only considering techniques we know are physically possible, fermi calculations, and an actual spacecraft design made during a one-week research bender._
_(this is a sequence. [2](https://www... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/BZYG8ARQAwMyBqP2o/so-you-want-to-colonize-the-universe |
# So You Want to Colonize the Universe Part 2: Deep Time Engineering
**Part 2: Deep Time Engineering**
([1](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/BZYG8ARQAwMyBqP2o/so-you-want-to-colonize-the-universe), [3](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/KBDTPTfhjwHAAgk6P/so-you-want-to-colonize-the-universe-part-3-dust), [4](https://www.... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/7XyTMYnBCKmKLxeC8/so-you-want-to-colonize-the-universe-part-2-deep-time |
# So You Want To Colonize The Universe Part 3: Dust
([1](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/BZYG8ARQAwMyBqP2o/so-you-want-to-colonize-the-universe), [2](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/7XyTMYnBCKmKLxeC8/so-you-want-to-colonize-the-universe-part-2-deep-time), [4](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/KCQ8Di3vWKnS2TDjF/so-you-wa... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/KBDTPTfhjwHAAgk6P/so-you-want-to-colonize-the-universe-part-3-dust |
# So You Want to Colonize The Universe Part 4: Velocity Changes and Energy
([1](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/BZYG8ARQAwMyBqP2o/so-you-want-to-colonize-the-universe), [2](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/7XyTMYnBCKmKLxeC8/so-you-want-to-colonize-the-universe-part-2-deep-time), [3](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/KBDT... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/KCQ8Di3vWKnS2TDjF/so-you-want-to-colonize-the-universe-part-4-velocity-changes |
# So You Want to Colonize The Universe Part 5: The Actual Design
Alright, here's the actual design for an intergalactic mission to the Virgo Supercluster.
([1](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/BZYG8ARQAwMyBqP2o/so-you-want-to-colonize-the-universe), [2](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/7XyTMYnBCKmKLxeC8/so-you-want-to-... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Yy9cnzRGC7r6NXzoD/so-you-want-to-colonize-the-universe-part-5-the-actual |
# Unconscious Economics
Here’s an insight I had about how incentives work in practice, that I’ve not seen explained in an econ textbook/course.
There are at least three ways in which incentives affect behaviour: 1) via consciously motivating agents, 2) via unconsciously reinforcing certain behaviour, and 3) via selec... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/PrCmeuBPC4XLDQz8C/unconscious-economics |
# The Tale of Alice Almost: Strategies for Dealing With Pretty Good People
Suppose you value some virtue V and you want to encourage people to be better at it. Suppose also you are something of a “thought leader” or “public intellectual” — you have some ability to influence the culture around you through speech or wr... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/QLmSFeFexgTLsNeeA/the-tale-of-alice-almost-strategies-for-dealing-with-pretty |
# Policy-Based vs Willpower-Based Intentions
Been thinking about what it means to set an intention lately. I think I’ve found a distinction between policy-based intentions and willpower-based intentions.
Policy-based intention
======================
Policy-based intention-setting is a lot like writing a computer sc... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ykE2WLTdXy5pKD8uK/policy-based-vs-willpower-based-intentions |
# Have a camel!
1.
The East is rich and her tales abundant, and here is but one of them.*
Once upon a time, a man lost his camel and went about looking for it. He met three boys whom he asked if they had seen the animal.
"Is your camel pregnant?" asked the first boy.
"Why, so she is!" said the owner... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/im58ixrcuXLK66WJD/have-a-camel |
# What would a zetetic explanation be for the rationality community?
Zetetic explanations as described by benquo ([blogpost](http://benjaminrosshoffman.com/zetetic-explanation/), [lw linkpost](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/i2Dnu9n7T3ZCcQPxm/zetetic-explanation)).
* Interdisciplinary
* covers a mixture of socia... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/EngCvPgpYg6opNBxz/what-would-a-zetetic-explanation-be-for-the-rationality |
# Motivation: You Have to Win in the Moment
_Epistemic status: Confidence that the models expressed are true to reality: 80%; Confidence that the inferred advice isn’t bad advice: 80%; Confidence that the models presented are complete: less than 50%. I'd bet I'm still missing an important piece or two from the pictur... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/EkEYLkcxT8Wd2HS9W/motivation-you-have-to-win-in-the-moment |
# Karma-Change Notifications
Starting this weekend, LessWrong will be displaying karma notifications in the top-right corner, telling you about when you've been upvoted or downvoted. You can click the star icon to see which of your posts and comments have been voted on, and how much their score has changed.
This work... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/yb3Js7ArenCiiHxKF/karma-change-notifications |
# LW Update 2019-01-03 – New All-Posts Page, Author hover-previews and new post-item
Daily page replaced with new "All-posts" page
---------------------------------------------
The old `/daily` page (accessible via clicking "Daily" on the frontpage, or clicking on "All Posts" in the hamburger menu in the top-left) ha... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/dbZd5q9xg8hGnKvnB/lw-update-2019-01-03-new-all-posts-page-author-hover |
# Subagents, introspective awareness, and blending
> In this post, I extend the model of mind that I've been building up in previous posts to explain some things about change blindness, not knowing whether you are conscious, forgetting most of your thoughts, and mistaking your thoughts and emotions as objective facts,... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/AhcEaqWYpa2NieNsK/subagents-introspective-awareness-and-blending |
# To understand, study edge cases
This seems obvious, but is often forgotten. When a system functions efficiently, its individual parts are hard to notice. If you want to understand how a system functions, what it is made of, how each part works, but you cannot easily disassemble it and have a look, you have to get ou... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/sdT4bm5CMpk5bZdKb/to-understand-study-edge-cases |
# How much funding and researchers were in AI, and AI Safety, in 2018?
I'm trying to build up a picture of how "much" research is going into general AI capabilities, and how much is going into AI safety.
The _ideal_ question I'd be asking is "how much progress \[measured in "important thoughts/ideas/tools" was being ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/mPBtzaRkqx6D8qZw6/how-much-funding-and-researchers-were-in-ai-and-ai-safety-in |
# Alignment Newsletter #47
Find all Alignment Newsletter resources [here](http://rohinshah.com/alignment-newsletter/). In particular, you can [sign up](http://eepurl.com/dqMSZj), or look through this [spreadsheet](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PwWbWZ6FPqAgZWOoOcXM8N_tUCuxpEyMbN1NYYC02aM/edit?usp=sharing) of ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Aipqop4XpqPeGpWNi/alignment-newsletter-47 |
# Book review: My Hidden Chimp
tl;dr: A narrowly framed introduction to dual process theory for ~5-10 years olds.
I love a dual process theory metaphor as much as the next rationalist (researching this post I came across [King Louie and the Apes](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/NJL5FYe6KkRtjekeG/are-you-the-rider-or-... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/v482HmeeeXNM4kfm3/book-review-my-hidden-chimp |
# Syntax vs semantics: alarm better example than thermostat
I had a post on [empirically bridging syntax and semantics](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/EEPdbtvW8ei9Yi2e8/bridging-syntax-and-semantics-empirically). It used the example of temperature, building on [McCarthy](http://cs.uns.edu.ar/~grs/InteligenciaArtifici... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/bbw6c9as5STvWXAgB/syntax-vs-semantics-alarm-better-example-than-thermostat |
# IRL 1/8: Inverse Reinforcement Learning and the problem of degeneracy
Every Monday for 8 weeks, we will be posting lessons about Inverse Reinforcement Learning. This is lesson 1.
Note that access to the lessons requires creating an account [here](https://app.grasple.com/#/course/141?access_token=3HCK4oRipeFY2ghyYMq... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/bAcJxQeKJcBBnE7bc/irl-1-8-inverse-reinforcement-learning-and-the-problem-of |
# Finding the variables
In a previous [post on bridging syntax and semantics](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/EEPdbtvW8ei9Yi2e8/bridging-syntax-and-semantics-empirically), I mentioned how to empirically establish that the internal symbols $X_i$ represented the variables $x_i$ in the environment: if the $X_i$ have high... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/pHHhyZX5zwvwNqDXm/finding-the-variables |
# Book Review: The Eureka Factor
*Cross posted from [my personal blog](https://drossbucket.wordpress.com/2019/02/26/book-review-the-eureka-factor/).*
Last month I finally got round to reading *The Eureka Factor* by John Kounios and Mark Beeman, a popular book summarising research on 'insightful' thinking. I first m... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/dviEKsDf9ZmhYGyL9/book-review-the-eureka-factor |
# Rationality Retreat in Cologne Area, Germany, Spring 2019
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
APPLICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
I am excited to announce that I am hosting a rationality retreat near Cologne, Germany this sp... | https://www.lesswrong.com/events/wF4RAeBvRYvsy9Jvx/rationality-retreat-in-cologne-area-germany-spring-2019 |
# Personalized Medicine For Real
I was part of the founding team at MetaMed, a personalized medicine startup. We went out of business back in 2015. We made a lot of mistakes due to inexperience, some of which I deeply regret.
I’m reflecting on that now, because [Perlara](https://www.perlara.com/) just went out of b... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/TKk7rShf9d5ePN7vR/personalized-medicine-for-real |
# Simplified preferences needed; simplified preferences sufficient
**AI scientists at EvenDeeperMind**: "Hey everyone! We have a developed a low-impact AI!"
**AI policy people at OpenFutureofExistentialAI**: "Fantastic! What does it do?"
**AI scientists**: "It's limited to answering questions, and it has four possib... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/sEqu6jMgnHG2fvaoQ/simplified-preferences-needed-simplified-preferences |
# mAIry's room: AI reasoning to solve philosophical problems
*This post grew out of a conversation with Laurent Orseau; we were initially going to write a paper for a consciousness/philosophy journal of some sort, but that now seems unlikely, so I thought I'd post the key ideas here.*
A summary of this post [can be ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/DLmhJbuhYek5rEhpH/mairy-s-room-ai-reasoning-to-solve-philosophical-problems |
# Three ways that "Sufficiently optimized agents appear coherent" can be false
There has been a couple of recent posts suggesting that Eliezer Yudkowsky's [Sufficiently optimized agents appear coherent](https://arbital.com/p/optimized_agent_appears_coherent/) thesis does not seem useful because it's vacuously true: on... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/4K52SS7fm9mp5rMdX/three-ways-that-sufficiently-optimized-agents-appear |
# Leaky Concepts
Original post: [http://bearlamp.com.au/leaky-concepts/](http://bearlamp.com.au/leaky-concepts/)
_When is a door not a door? When it’s Ajar_.
See also: [motte and bailey fallacy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motte-and-bailey_fallacy) by [Scott Alexander](https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/11/03/all-in-... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/iSSXfBnCmjqWEb7Pm/leaky-concepts |
# Preferences in subpieces of hierarchical systems
In a [previous post](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/iutXWSDd56ieAiyTi/hierarchical-system-preferences-and-subagent-preferences), I looked at hierarchical systems, and at subagents within them that could develop their own preferences. This was due to a conversation wi... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/8cedA5q2cBSZiYSPo/preferences-in-subpieces-of-hierarchical-systems |
# Asking for help teaching a critical thinking class.
I will soon be teaching a "critical thinking" class for undergraduates. Feel free to mentally replace "critical thinking" with "epistemic virtue". I would appreciate answers to any of these questions:
What would you do if you only had one three hour class period t... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/rveimRemZRFEuPkWE/asking-for-help-teaching-a-critical-thinking-class |
# In My Culture
*This is a linkpost for* [*https://medium.com/@ThingMaker/in-my-culture-29c6464072b2*](https://medium.com/@ThingMaker/in-my-culture-29c6464072b2)
One of my colleagues has a neat little trick.
Sometimes, in the middle of a conversation—*especially* if things are heated or tense or confusing—they’ll pa... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/4EGYhyyJXSnE7xJ9H/in-my-culture |
# Open Thread March 2019
If it’s worth saying, but not worth its own post, you can put it here.
Also, if you are new to LessWrong and want to introduce yourself, this is the place to do it. Personal stories, anecdotes, or just general comments on how you found us and what you hope to get from the site and community a... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/vGKnemaWJjWJbAKww/open-thread-march-2019 |
# Ideas for an action coordination website
*inspired by Inadequate equilibria, and following the '*[*KickStarter for Coordinated Action*](https://www.lesswrong.com/s/vz9Zrj3oBGsttG3Jh)*' sequence.*
This is an idea-dump post for a website i thought of after reading Inadequate equilibria.
Today, tools like Facebook an... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/5YpMaDBvEgNmCfsd7/ideas-for-an-action-coordination-website |
# Smoothmin and personal identity
I value existential risk reduction; I also value poverty reduction. These two things trade off against each other.
I value being generous; I also value reading interesting books. These two things trade off against each other.
But the way the two tradeoffs work do not seem to be the ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/MxLK2fvEuijAYgsc2/smoothmin-and-personal-identity |
# Alignment Research Field Guide
_This field guide was written by the MIRI team with [MIRIx](http://intelligence.org/mirix) groups in mind, though the advice may be relevant to others working on AI alignment research._
⠀
Preamble I: Decision Theory
---------------------------
Hello! You may notice that you are read... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/PqMT9zGrNsGJNfiFR/alignment-research-field-guide |
# Renaming "Frontpage"
We're about to revamp the frontpage design (you can see a hint of what's to come on the new [/allPosts](https://www.lesswrong.com/allPosts) page).
While we're at it, I'd like to fix a longstanding problem, which is that "frontpage posts" is a fairly confusing concept for the site to rely on.
"... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/FCBznodEAfEccyho4/renaming-frontpage |
# How dangerous is it to ride a bicycle without a helmet?
_Epistemic Status: An hour of googling combined with some highly dubious statistics and very rough notes. Take with at least 500 grams of salt._
I don't like wearing bike helmets, and have a bunch of friends who were horrified at me not wearing helmets when I ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/3iFzaDwoah35ri4aD/how-dangerous-is-it-to-ride-a-bicycle-without-a-helmet |
# On the Regulation of Perception
Have you ever had one of those unexpected flashes of metacognition?
It was towards the end of long, successful day. Around 9:30PM.
I’d woken late so I’d be up a while longer, and was sort of lounging for a little while, sometimes reading a little, sometimes half-napping and dozing a... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/C9JzEbMv3oAgyJBF6/on-the-regulation-of-perception |
# Plans are Recursive & Why This is Important
_Epistemic status: Reference. Highly confident. I rely on what is presented here extensively in my own thinking._
Plans are recursive. Any plan can be decomposed into parts and those parts can be in turn be decomposed into further parts and so on until it is senseless to ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/xrrycug4DWSdqBhjQ/plans-are-recursive-and-why-this-is-important |
# Muqaata'a by Fahad Himsi (I.)
When [Black Panther](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjDjIWPwcPU) came out I went to cinema hoping to finally see a science fiction movie about Sub-Saharan Africa. ([District 9](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyLUwOcR5pk), for obvious reasons, doesn't count.)
Needless to say, I was di... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/wbABMprXkJQxrSDvX/muqaata-a-by-fahad-himsi-i |
# [Fiction] IO.SYS
[https://www.datapacrat.com/IO.SYS.html](https://www.datapacrat.com/IO.SYS.html)
* * *
[IO.SYS](https://www.datapacrat.com/IO.SYS.html)
================================================
#### [by DataPacRat](https://blog.datapacrat.com/about/)
* * *
If this has all been a VR, I’d like to be conne... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/FK49pmBDgYGwDE2Sb/fiction-io-sys |
# IRL 2/8: Mitigating degeneracy: multiple experimentation
Every Monday for 8 weeks, we will be posting lessons about Inverse Reinforcement Learning. This is lesson 2.
Note that access to the lessons requires creating an account [here](https://app.grasple.com/#/course/141?access_token=3HCK4oRipeFY2ghyYMqDJKYX57KU... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/yYeqBBFDQHTvSr5nD/irl-2-8-mitigating-degeneracy-multiple-experimentation |
# Blegg Mode
Fanfiction for the [blegg/rube parable](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/4FcxgdvdQP45D6Skg/disguised-queries) in ["A Human's Guide to Words"](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/FaJaCgqBKphrDzDSj/37-ways-that-words-can-be-wrong), ~800 words. (_Content notice_: in addition to making a point about epistemology (... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/GEJzPwY8JedcNX2qz/blegg-mode |
# Example population ethics: ordered discounted utility
*This article is a stub. Alas, you can't help Wikipedia (or LessWrong) by expanding it. Except through good comments.*
Here I'll present an old idea for a theory of population ethics. This post exists mainly so that I can have something to point to when I need t... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Ee29dFnPhaeRmYdMy/example-population-ethics-ordered-discounted-utility |
# What Vibing Feels Like
**Epistemic Status:** Halfway between a poem and a how-to guide.
There's a specific type of communication, called vibing, that I feel was in large part missing from the rationalist community in Berkeley.
I've tried to talk to people about this type of communication before, but the closest I ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/jXHwYYnqynhB3TAsc/what-vibing-feels-like |
# Designing agent incentives to avoid side effects
This is a [new post](https://medium.com/@deepmindsafetyresearch/designing-agent-incentives-to-avoid-side-effects-e1ac80ea6107) on the DeepMind Safety Research blog that summarizes the latest work on impact measures presented by the [relative reachability paper (versio... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/eax34WBLNmB4Gv6so/designing-agent-incentives-to-avoid-side-effects |
# Alignment Newsletter #48
Find all Alignment Newsletter resources [here](http://rohinshah.com/alignment-newsletter/). In particular, you can [sign up](http://eepurl.com/dqMSZj), or look through this [spreadsheet](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PwWbWZ6FPqAgZWOoOcXM8N_tUCuxpEyMbN1NYYC02aM/edit?usp=sharing) of ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/BJ4Ek5BaJEKei3Czf/alignment-newsletter-48 |
# If you wrote a letter to your future self every day, what would you put in it?
Several days ago, I wrote an email to myself.
That email will now be sent to me every day.
All it is is a single draft in my Gmail drafts folder, with the [Mail Conductor](https://www.mailconductor.com/) extension sending it out at 10:0... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/MMa2psp3G846dy5Wb/if-you-wrote-a-letter-to-your-future-self-every-day-what |
# How to Understand and Mitigate Risk
_[This post wouldn't be possible without support from the EA Hotel](https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/j7xz4rQidfRgFo6KC/ea-hotel-fundraiser-2-current-guests-and-their-projects)._
**Epistemic Status:** Fairly certain these distinctions are pointing at real things, less cer... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/eA9a5fpi6vAmyyp74/how-to-understand-and-mitigate-risk |
# New York Restaurants I Love: Pizza
Previously in series: [New York Restaurants I Love: Breakfast](https://thezvi.wordpress.com/2019/02/14/new-york-restaurants-i-love-breakfast/)
Previously in pizza: [Restaurant Guide 2: Pizza](https://thezvi.wordpress.com/2017/03/17/restaurant-guide-2-pizza/)
If you don’t live in ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/y3wiYCJ4KnfuSNeaY/new-york-restaurants-i-love-pizza |
# The tech left behind
Hello, I am asking for some insights for a research I am doing. Can you cite examples of technologies that have been forgotten? What I mean by "forgotten" is not things we don't know how to do but used to (I suspect there aren't that many), nor things that are no longer in use but used to (mecha... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/8p9fdZqZxYotmjMy4/the-tech-left-behind |
# You Get About Five Words
_Cross posted from the [EA Forum](https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/BSJbPZP9AAyivpmBE/you-have-four-words)._
_Epistemic Status: all numbers are made up and/or sketchily sourced. Post errs on the side of simplistic poetry – take seriously but not literally._
* * *
If you want to co... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/4ZvJab25tDebB8FGE/you-get-about-five-words |
# LW Update 2019-03-12 -- Bugfixes, small features
We've deployed an updated version of LessWrong, with a bunch of bug fixes and small features added since last time (March 1).
Features and Changes
* Auto-linkify URLs in posts and comments
* Coauthored posts appear on your user profile page
* Drafts that are shar... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/75JwJCBZTMfYEmKR4/lw-update-2019-03-12-bugfixes-small-features |
# [Link] OpenAI LP
https://openai.com/blog/openai-lp/
> We’ll need to invest billions of dollars in upcoming years into large-scale cloud compute, attracting and retaining talented people, and building AI supercomputers.
> We want to increase our ability to raise capital while still serving our mission, and no pre-e... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/8rTxCudZgEARxLn2u/link-openai-lp |
# Verifying vNM-rationality requires an ontology
**Result**
It is impossible to verify that an agent is [vNM-rational](https://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Expected_utility) by observing its actions without access to the domain of its utility function.
**Motivation**
Alphonso and Beatriz both go the market to buy f... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/DoyJiFwEzeeMBchH7/verifying-vnm-rationality-requires-an-ontology |
# Understanding information cascades
_Meta: Because we think understanding info cascades are important, we recently spent ~10 hours trying to figure out how to quantitatively model them, and have contributed our thinking as answers below. While we currently didn't have the time to continue exploring, we wanted to expe... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/2uDBJWCksvzhDzHGf/understanding-information-cascades |
# Distribution of info-cascades across fields? [Info-cascade series]
_This is a question in_ _[the info-cascade question series](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/2uDBJWCksvzhDzHGf/understanding-info-cascades). There is a prize pool of up to $800 for answers to these questions. See the link above for full background on ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/FuqxhhhNAPNz5tGA4/distribution-of-info-cascades-across-fields-info-cascade |
# How can we respond to info-cascades? [Info-cascade series]
_This is a question in_ _[the info-cascade question series](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/2uDBJWCksvzhDzHGf/understanding-info-cascades). There is a prize pool of up to $800 for answers to these questions. See the link above for full background on the prob... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/NzQNKTXK2gtDW6KCk/how-can-we-respond-to-info-cascades-info-cascade-series |
# How large is the harm from info-cascades? [Info-cascade series]
_This is a question in_ _[the info-cascade question series](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/2uDBJWCksvzhDzHGf/understanding-info-cascades). There is a prize pool of up to $800 for answers to these questions. See the link above for full background on the... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/xmoQSAx8X5xJTxLd6/how-large-is-the-harm-from-info-cascades-info-cascade-series |
# Formalising continuous info cascades? [Info-cascade series]
_This is a question in_ _[the info-cascade question series](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/2uDBJWCksvzhDzHGf/understanding-info-cascades). There is a prize pool of up to $800 for answers to these questions. See the link above for full background on the pro... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/MSJZwxKN3f4AfHB8m/formalising-continuous-info-cascades-info-cascade-series |
# A theory of human values
At the end of my [post on needing a theory of human values](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/zvrZi95EHqJPxdgps/why-we-need-a-theory-of-human-values), I stated that the three components of such a theory were:
1. A way of defining the basic preferences (and basic meta-preferences) of a given h... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/qezBTig6p6p5xtL6G/a-theory-of-human-values |
# Question: MIRI Corrigbility Agenda
MIRI's reading list on corrigbility seems out dated, and I can't find a centralised list Does anyone have, or know of, one?
As a side note, has MIRI stopped updating their reading list? It seems like that's the case.
EDIT:
Links given in the comment section to do with corrig... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/BScxwSun3K2MgpoNz/question-miri-corrigbility-agenda |
# AI Safety Prerequisites Course: Basic abstract representations of computation
Followup to [AI Safety Prerequisites Course: Revamp and New Lessons](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/QnZjZvh4SxTP3bHS8/ai-safety-prerequisites-course-revamp-and-new-lessons). [First post](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/kK67yXhmDYwXLqXoQ/f... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/SaGWQW44powMr5xg3/ai-safety-prerequisites-course-basic-abstract |
# Blackmailers are privateers in the war on hypocrisy
Allowing blackmail seems prima facie good to me, since it's a tax on covert illicit bejhavior. Zvi [seems to think](https://thezvi.wordpress.com/2019/02/19/blackmail/), to the contrary, that it's prima facie bad.
[Robin Hanson argued](http://www.overcomin... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/zYPBQszj335AfGWt4/blackmailers-are-privateers-in-the-war-on-hypocrisy |
# Mysteries, identity, and preferences over non-rewards
*Note: working on a research agenda, hence the large amount of small individual posts, to have things to link to in the main documents*.
I've [given examples](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/kgQCpiuHwDWNgz7E4/preferences-over-non-rewards) of preferences over non... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/kSiHWuuhfe7rB4wAG/mysteries-identity-and-preferences-over-non-rewards |
# Combining individual preference utility functions
*Note: working on a research agenda, hence the large amount of small individual posts, to have things to link to in the main documents*.
I've been [working on a way of synthesising the preferences of a single given human](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/qezBTig6p6p5... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Abws49L8CNFEorpXg/combining-individual-preference-utility-functions |
# Active Curiosity vs Open Curiosity
I think the word ‘curiosity’ is used to describe two distinct things that I will now differentiate as active curiosity and open curiosity.
**Active curiosity** is driven & purposeful. Like thirst, it seeks to be quenched.
When you see a blurry object among distant waves and it lo... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/22LAkTNdWv6QaQyZY/active-curiosity-vs-open-curiosity |
# Privacy
Follow-up to: [Blackmail](https://thezvi.wordpress.com/2019/02/19/blackmail/)
\[Note on Compass Rose response: This is _not _a response to [the recent Compass Rose response](http://benjaminrosshoffman.com/blackmailers-are-privateers-in-the-war-on-hypocrisy/#comment-176666), it was written before that, but w... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/v3Nnsm5HgvEBBDpEZ/privacy |
# Humans aren't agents - what then for value learning?
Humans aren't agents in the same way a thermostat isn't an agent.
A specimen of *Temperatus moderatu humilis*
Consider a truly humble thermostat. ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/DsEuRrsenZ6piGpE6/humans-aren-t-agents-what-then-for-value-learning |
# Boeing 737 MAX MCAS as an agent corrigibility failure
The Boeing Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) can be thought of, if reaching a bit, as a specialized AI: it performs a function normally reserved for a human pilot: [pitching the nose down when it deems the angle of attack to be dangerously hi... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/JYvw2jv4R5HphXEd7/boeing-737-max-mcas-as-an-agent-corrigibility-failure |
# Comparison of decision theories (with a focus on logical-counterfactual decision theories)
# Introduction
## Summary
This post is a comparison of various existing decision theories, with a focus
on decision theories that use logical counterfactuals (a.k.a. the kind of decision theories most discussed on LessWrong)... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/QPhY8Nb7gtT5wvoPH/comparison-of-decision-theories-with-a-focus-on-logical |
# Has "politics is the mind-killer" been a mind-killer?
To my mind, one of the seminal pieces of writing in the rationalsphere is Eliezer's short essay titled ["Politics is the mind-killer"](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/9weLK2AJ9JEt2Tt8f/politics-is-the-mind-killer).
YMMV, but it had a big influence on me personal... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/K7k9bT5x3Pz7EGTAu/has-politics-is-the-mind-killer-been-a-mind-killer |
# A cognitive intervention for wrist pain
## Intention
(Added 2019-03-19.)
The web contains much information about wrist pain, RSI, carpal tunnel syndrome
etc. Most of it suggests that it comes from repetitive small movements, such as
typing. It warns about dire consequences, and recommends improving workplace
ergon... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/gEKsuJjnPkzovYBvm/a-cognitive-intervention-for-wrist-pain |
# How large is the fallout area of the biggest cobalt bomb we can build?
Cobalt bombs are the currently most effective way I know of to make large areas of land unlivable for a long period of time. I don't actually know the fallout area of such a bomb. [The Wikipedia article](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobalt_bom... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/e7CfiKCSW3xngSaEy/how-large-is-the-fallout-area-of-the-biggest-cobalt-bomb-we |
# What societies have ever had legal or accepted blackmail?
Robin Hanson's post [History of Blackmail](https://www.overcomingbias.com/2011/08/history-of-blackmail.html) only mentions cases where blackmail was illicit or illegal. Have there ever been any societies, large or small, where blackmail was widely accepted? | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/PNgyG4beKCGwmmM9q/what-societies-have-ever-had-legal-or-accepted-blackmail |
# Ask LW: Have you read Yudkowsky's AI to Zombie book?
How many times have you read it? Did you start with the book and move to the website? (Anecdotally: I enjoyed until the half of it reading it while commuting but lately I've found that you can read them online (for free?!) And also have comments to every essay in ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/4RBRXsGHic7iD3tHb/ask-lw-have-you-read-yudkowsky-s-ai-to-zombie-book |
# Insights from Munkres' Topology
This is about the Math Textbook **[Topology](https://www.amazon.com/Topology-Munkres/dp/9332549532/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Topology+Munkres&qid=1552228066&s=gateway&sr=8-1)** from Miri's [research guide](https://intelligence.org/research-guide/). (You can find the pdf online for free.) I ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/rYumRQK3G9cqvaxQ7/insights-from-munkres-topology |
# What failure looks like
The stereotyped image of AI catastrophe is a powerful, malicious AI system that takes its creators by surprise and quickly achieves a decisive advantage over the rest of humanity.
I think this is probably not what failure will look like, and I want to try to paint a more realistic picture. I... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/HBxe6wdjxK239zajf/what-failure-looks-like |
# Is there a difference between uncertainty over your utility function and uncertainty over outcomes?
I was discussing UDT yesterday and the question came up of how to treat uncertainty over your utility function. I suggested that this could be transformed into a question of uncertainty over outcomes. The intuition is... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/9pwtQM8CEoNapFn7A/is-there-a-difference-between-uncertainty-over-your-utility |
# Partial preferences and models
*Note: working on a research agenda, hence the large amount of small individual posts, to have things to link to in the main documents.*
**EDIT**: This model is currently obsolete, see [here](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/2vnJmWDAaLKDayvwr/toy-model-piece-4-partial-preferences-re-re... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/CiB3myyeEhFRgmKPL/partial-preferences-and-models |
# Rest Days vs Recovery Days
_Based on a comment I made on this [EA Forum Post on Burnout](https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/NDszJWMsdLCB4MNoy/burnout-what-is-it-and-how-to-treat-it)._
_Related links: [Sabbath hard and go home](http://benjaminrosshoffman.com/sabbath-hard-and-go-home/), [Bring Back the Sabbath... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ximou2kyQorm6MPjX/rest-days-vs-recovery-days |
# Some thoughts after reading Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach
Intro
-----
I have been trying to learn what I need to know to contribute to AI safety research. To that end, I recently finished working through _Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach_. Before reading this textbook, I knew a bit about mach... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/CNXqL5R7FQG9QnevW/some-thoughts-after-reading-artificial-intelligence-a-modern |
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