An agent can guarantee the persistence of a trait by self-modifying into code that provably can never lead to the modification of that trait. A trivial example is that the agent can self-modify into code that preserves a trait and can’t self-modify.
But more precisely, an agent can guarantee the persistence of a trait only “by self-modifying into code that provably can nevenrlead to the modification of that trait.” Anything tied to rationality that guarantees the existence of a conforming modification at the time of offer must guarantee the continued existence of the same capacity after the modification, making the proposed self-modification self-contradictory.
An agent can guarantee the persistence of a trait by self-modifying into code that provably can never lead to the modification of that trait. A trivial example is that the agent can self-modify into code that preserves a trait and can’t self-modify.
But more precisely, an agent can guarantee the persistence of a trait only “by self-modifying into code that provably can nevenrlead to the modification of that trait.” Anything tied to rationality that guarantees the existence of a conforming modification at the time of offer must guarantee the continued existence of the same capacity after the modification, making the proposed self-modification self-contradictory.