The post is making the distinction between seeing preferences as a utility function of worlds (this is the regular old idea of utility functions as random variables) vs seeing preferences as an expectation function on events (the jeffrey-bolker view). Both perspectives hold that an agent can optimize things it does not have direct access to. Agency is optimization at a distance. Optimization that isn’t at a distance is selection as opposed to control.
The post is making the distinction between seeing preferences as a utility function of worlds (this is the regular old idea of utility functions as random variables) vs seeing preferences as an expectation function on events (the jeffrey-bolker view). Both perspectives hold that an agent can optimize things it does not have direct access to. Agency is optimization at a distance. Optimization that isn’t at a distance is selection as opposed to control.