(Scott and I had a good conversation today. I think I need to write a followup post (working title: “Instrumental Categories, Wireheading, and War”) explaining in more detail exactly what distinction I’m making when I say I want to consider some kinds of appeals-to-consequences invalid while still allowing, e.g. “Requiring semicolons in your programming language will have the consequence of being less convenient for users who forget them.” The paragraphs in “Where to Draw the Boundaries?” starting with “There is an important difference [...]” are gesturing at the distinction, but perhaps not elaborating enough for readers who don’t already consider it “obvious.”)
(Scott and I had a good conversation today. I think I need to write a followup post (working title: “Instrumental Categories, Wireheading, and War”) explaining in more detail exactly what distinction I’m making when I say I want to consider some kinds of appeals-to-consequences invalid while still allowing, e.g. “Requiring semicolons in your programming language will have the consequence of being less convenient for users who forget them.” The paragraphs in “Where to Draw the Boundaries?” starting with “There is an important difference [...]” are gesturing at the distinction, but perhaps not elaborating enough for readers who don’t already consider it “obvious.”)