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“Consider an AI that has hedonism as its final goal, and which would therefore like to tile the universe with “hedonium” (matter organized in a configuration that is optimal for the generation of pleasurable experience). To this end, the AI might produce computronium (matter organized in a configuration that is optimal for computation) and use it to implement digital minds in states of euphoria. In order to maximize efficiency, the AI omits from the implementation any mental faculties that are not essential for the experience of pleasure, and exploits any computational shortcuts that according to its definition of pleasure do not vitiate the generation of pleasure. For instance, the AI might confine its simulation to reward circuitry, eliding faculties such as a memory, sensory perception, executive function, and language; it might simulate minds at a relatively coarse-grained level of functionality, omitting lower-level neuronal processes; it might replace commonly repeated computations with calls to a lookup table; or it might put in place some arrangement whereby multiple minds would share most parts of their underlying computational machinery (their “supervenience bases” in philosophical parlance). Such tricks could greatly increase the quantity of pleasure producible with a given amount of resources.”
― Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies
― Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies
“There is no justice in the laws of nature, no term for fairness in the equations of motion. The Universe is neither evil, nor good, it simply does not care. The stars don't care, or the Sun, or the sky.
But they don't have to! WE care! There IS light in the world, and it is US!”
― Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality
But they don't have to! WE care! There IS light in the world, and it is US!”
― Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality
“So I have just one wish for you – the good luck to be somewhere where you are free to maintain the kind of integrity I have described, and where you do not feel forced by a need to maintain your position in the organization, or financial support, or so on, to lose your integrity. May you have that freedom.”
― Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!: Adventures of a Curious Character
― Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!: Adventures of a Curious Character
“The challenge for us is this: How can we ensure that, when we try to help others, we do so as effectively as possible?”
― Doing Good Better: How Effective Altruism Can Help You Make a Difference
― Doing Good Better: How Effective Altruism Can Help You Make a Difference
Effective Altruists
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