Re: experience machine, Past Me would have refused it and Present Me would take it. The difference is due to a major (and seemingly irreversible) deterioration in my wellbeing several years ago, but not only because that makes the real world less enjoyable.
Agency is another big reason to refuse the experience machine; if I think I can make a difference in the base-level world, I feel a moral responsibility towards it. But I experience significantly less agency now (and project less agency in the future), so that factor is diminished for me.
The main factor that’s still operative is epistemics: I would much rather my beliefs be accurate than be deceived about the world. But it’s hard for that to outweigh the unhappiness at this point.
So if a lot of people would choose the Experience Machine, that suggests they are some combination of unhappy, not confident in their agency, and not obsessed with their epistemics. (Which does, I think, operationalize your “something is very wrong”.)
Re: experience machine, Past Me would have refused it and Present Me would take it. The difference is due to a major (and seemingly irreversible) deterioration in my wellbeing several years ago, but not only because that makes the real world less enjoyable.
Agency is another big reason to refuse the experience machine; if I think I can make a difference in the base-level world, I feel a moral responsibility towards it. But I experience significantly less agency now (and project less agency in the future), so that factor is diminished for me.
The main factor that’s still operative is epistemics: I would much rather my beliefs be accurate than be deceived about the world. But it’s hard for that to outweigh the unhappiness at this point.
So if a lot of people would choose the Experience Machine, that suggests they are some combination of unhappy, not confident in their agency, and not obsessed with their epistemics. (Which does, I think, operationalize your “something is very wrong”.)