If you suddenly introduce it in the middle of our universe’s execution, sure. The scenario I was considering is where it exists from the beginning, with life evolving to take advantage of it from the get-go. In which case… Well, it really depends on the specific evolutionary setup, but plausibly organisms would evolve to accept death rather than a bad deal in such situations (the way humans evolved e. g. death-before-dishonor), and so most deals made would be net-positive.
I didn’t spend much time considering specific mechanisms, though; by all means, I can imagine it going perversely too.
If you suddenly introduce it in the middle of our universe’s execution, sure. The scenario I was considering is where it exists from the beginning, with life evolving to take advantage of it from the get-go. In which case… Well, it really depends on the specific evolutionary setup, but plausibly organisms would evolve to accept death rather than a bad deal in such situations (the way humans evolved e. g. death-before-dishonor), and so most deals made would be net-positive.
I didn’t spend much time considering specific mechanisms, though; by all means, I can imagine it going perversely too.
How would life even evolve in the first place with such a system in place?
Have you thought through all the common thought experiments and methods described on LW before posting this?