I’m eager to improve the list References & Resources for LessWrong. I recently introduced a new label with the somewhat playful name Memetic Hazard. It is meant to mark resources that include ideas which might be controversial, bogus or which are works of fiction and therefore shouldn’t be taken at face value.
I should explain that the reason that some controversial concepts are listed in the first place is that I felt that I frequently encountered those concepts in some rather fanciful discussions and posts. Those posts and discussions attract attention as they are some of the more exciting and fictional content on LW. I had to look them up myself once and want to give new readers a companion guide to learn about the very concepts and their status within the community.
I might also turn the Key Concepts section into just Concepts with a Controversial subcategory.
I thought quantum suicide is not controversial since MWI is obviously correct?
I agree MWI is solid, I’m not suggesting that be flagged. But it does not in any way imply quantum suicide; the latter is somewhere between fringe and crackpot, and a proven memetic hazard with at least one recorded death to its credit.
And the AI section? Well, the list is supposed to reflect the opinions hold in the LW community, especially by EY and the SIAI. I’m trying my best to do so and by that standard, how controversial is AI going FOOM etc.?
Well, AI go FOOM etc is again somewhere in the area between fringe and crackpot, as judged by people who actually know about the subject. If the list were specifically supposed to represent the opinions of the SIAI, then it would belong on the SIAI website, not on LW.
So my question, are AI going FOOM and Quantum suicide considered controversial concepts in this community? And should any other content on the list potentially be marked controversial?
Help: Which concepts are controversial on LW
I’m eager to improve the list References & Resources for LessWrong. I recently introduced a new label with the somewhat playful name Memetic Hazard. It is meant to mark resources that include ideas which might be controversial, bogus or which are works of fiction and therefore shouldn’t be taken at face value.
I should explain that the reason that some controversial concepts are listed in the first place is that I felt that I frequently encountered those concepts in some rather fanciful discussions and posts. Those posts and discussions attract attention as they are some of the more exciting and fictional content on LW. I had to look them up myself once and want to give new readers a companion guide to learn about the very concepts and their status within the community.
I might also turn the Key Concepts section into just Concepts with a Controversial subcategory.
The trigger for this discussion post was a recent comment by rwallace:
So my question, are AI going FOOM and Quantum suicide considered controversial concepts in this community? And should any other content on the list potentially be marked controversial?
Thank you!