Ape in the coat comments on Reflexive decision theory is an unsolved problem

[Ape in the coat]

Isn’t the possibility and, moreover, computability of precommitmet just trivially true?

If you have programm DT(data), determinimg a decision according to a particular decision theory in the circumstances, specified by data, then you can easily construct a program PDT(data), determining the decision for the same decision theory but with precommitment:

def PDT(data, memory):
	precommited_decision = memory.get(data)
	if precommited_decision:
		return precommited_decision
	else:
		return DT(data)

The only thing that is required is an if-statement and memory object which can be implemented via a dictionary.

[cubefox]

Yes, but I was taking about humans. An AI might have a precommitment ability.

[Ape in the coat]

Yes, but I was taking about humans.

This also seems trivially true to me. I’ve successfully precommited multiple times in my life and I bet you have as well.

What you are probably talking about is the fact that occasionally humans fail at precommitments. But isn’t it an isolated demand for rigor? Humans occasionally fail at following any decision theory, or fail at being rational in general. It doesn’t make all the decision theories and rationality itself incoherent concept which we thus can’t talk about.

Actually, when I think about it, isn’t deciding what decision theory to follow, itself a precommitment?