If I would have to listen to anybody else in order to be able to make the best possible decision about what to do with the world, this would mean I would have less than unlimited power. Someone who has unlimited power will always do the right thing, by nature.
I recommend reading this sequence. Suffice it to say that you are wrong, and power does not bring with it morality.
It seems to me that the claim that Uni is making is not the same as the claim that you think e’s making, mostly because Uni is using definitions of ‘best possible decision’ and ‘right thing’ that are different from the ones that are usually used here.
It looks to me (and please correct me if I’m wrong, Uni) that Uni is basing eir definition on the idea that there is no objectively correct morality, not even one like Eliezer’s CEV—that morality and ‘the right thing to do’ are purely social ideas, defined by the people in a relevant situation.
Thus, if Uni had unlimited power, it would by definition be within eir power to cause the other people in the situation to consider eir actions correct, and e would do so.
If this is the argument that Uni is trying to make, then the standard arguments that power doesn’t cause morality are basically irrelevant, since Uni is not making the kinds of claims about an all-powerful person’s behavior that those apply to.
E appears to be claiming that an all-powerful person would always use that power to cause all relevant other people to consider their actions correct, which I suspect is incorrect, but e’s basically not making any other claims about the likely behavior of such an entity.
It seems to me that the claim that Uni is making is not the same as the claim that you think e’s making, mostly because Uni is using definitions of ‘best possible decision’ and ‘right thing’ that are different from the ones that are usually used here.
It looks to me (and please correct me if I’m wrong, Uni) that Uni is basing eir definition on the idea that there is no objectively correct morality, not even one like Eliezer’s CEV—that morality and ‘the right thing to do’ are purely social ideas, defined by the people in a relevant situation.
Thus, if Uni had unlimited power, it would by definition be within eir power to cause the other people in the situation to consider eir actions correct, and e would do so.
If this is the argument that Uni is trying to make, then the standard arguments that power doesn’t cause morality are basically irrelevant, since Uni is not making the kinds of claims about an all-powerful person’s behavior that those apply to.
E appears to be claiming that an all-powerful person would always use that power to cause all relevant other people to consider their actions correct, which I suspect is incorrect, but e’s basically not making any other claims about the likely behavior of such an entity.