Why do so many good things have horizontal transmission structures?
I think the key to this is that while vertical transmission is more likely to be aligned, it is aligned with reproductive fitness in particular, which only partially matches the rest of what we value. Whereas horizontal transmission can come with an aligned, human-chosen filter attached. If I accept ideas from random unvetted sources, they will be optimized for transmission by that medium; if I want ideas that will make me a good thinker, and I have some ability to identify who the previous generation’s good thinkers are, then I can selectively copy ideas from them, and they will be selected for that. (And if I succeed at becoming a recognizably good thinker, then future people may similarly copy ideas from me, and so on.)
(This kind of horizontal transmission is vulnerable to being taken over by fakes; if I lose the ability to distinguish who the good thinkers are, and start copying ideas from the wrong sources, then I’m back to the bad version of horizontal transmission in which ideas are selected mainly for virality, which in this case means memes that will turn me into a convincing faker.)
2. How should we think about horizontal transmission, normatively? Specifically, “paradox two” is an argument that horizontal-transmission practices, while enticing, can “burn the commons” of collective goodwill by opening up things for predatory/parasitic dynamics. Yet the conclusion seems severe and counterintuitive.
[Earlier in post:] The videos are being optimized for transmission rather than usefulness. Acquiring useful information requires prudent optimization against this.
It seems to me that the point where the damage is done is when someone signal boosts or retransmits the retransmission-optimized-low-quality information without doing this sort of prudent optimization. The more discriminating people are in what they signal boost, the more horizontal transmission becomes okay, both globally and within a particular information bubble.
This implies that the norms should be different in different groups, based on their inclination and ability to vet information before retransmitting it. Ie, most average people shouldn’t be choosing their reading material based on what their friends chose to signal boost, because they have undiscriminating friends, but intellectuals with curated follow lists can probably get away with this.
I think the key to this is that while vertical transmission is more likely to be aligned, it is aligned with reproductive fitness in particular, which only partially matches the rest of what we value. Whereas horizontal transmission can come with an aligned, human-chosen filter attached. If I accept ideas from random unvetted sources, they will be optimized for transmission by that medium; if I want ideas that will make me a good thinker, and I have some ability to identify who the previous generation’s good thinkers are, then I can selectively copy ideas from them, and they will be selected for that. (And if I succeed at becoming a recognizably good thinker, then future people may similarly copy ideas from me, and so on.)
(This kind of horizontal transmission is vulnerable to being taken over by fakes; if I lose the ability to distinguish who the good thinkers are, and start copying ideas from the wrong sources, then I’m back to the bad version of horizontal transmission in which ideas are selected mainly for virality, which in this case means memes that will turn me into a convincing faker.)
It seems to me that the point where the damage is done is when someone signal boosts or retransmits the retransmission-optimized-low-quality information without doing this sort of prudent optimization. The more discriminating people are in what they signal boost, the more horizontal transmission becomes okay, both globally and within a particular information bubble.
This implies that the norms should be different in different groups, based on their inclination and ability to vet information before retransmitting it. Ie, most average people shouldn’t be choosing their reading material based on what their friends chose to signal boost, because they have undiscriminating friends, but intellectuals with curated follow lists can probably get away with this.