It sounds like there may be a great point in here. I can’t quite see what it is or whether it works, though. Could you maybe spell it out with some variables or math?
Suppose you have a prima facie utility function U on ordinary outcomes; and suppose that you estimate that due to unknown unknowns, the probability that your real utility function V is infinite for each ordinary outcome is 1/(10^100) * U(outcome). Then you should prefer eating a pie with U = 3 utils (versus say 1 util for not eating it) to an 1 in 10^200 chance of going to heaven and getting infinite utils (which I’m counting here as an extraordinary outcome that the relationship between U and V doesn’t apply to).
If we use “decide rationally” to mean “decide in the way that makes most sense, given our limited knowledge and understanding” rather than “follow a particular procedure with a certain sort of justification”, I don’t think this is true.
I’m confused here, but I’m thinking of cases like: there’s a probability of 1 in 10^20 that God exists, but if so then our best guess is also that 1=2. If God exists, then the utility of an otherwise identical outcome is (1/1)^1000 times what it would otherwise be, so it’s also (1/2)^1000 times what it would otherwise be, so can we ignore that case?
I suspect reasoning like this would produce cutoffs far below Roko’s, though. (And the first argument above probably wouldn’t reproduce normal behavior.)
Suppose you have a prima facie utility function U on ordinary outcomes; and suppose that you estimate that due to unknown unknowns, the probability that your real utility function V is infinite for each ordinary outcome is 1/(10^100) * U(outcome). Then you should prefer eating a pie with U = 3 utils (versus say 1 util for not eating it) to an 1 in 10^200 chance of going to heaven and getting infinite utils (which I’m counting here as an extraordinary outcome that the relationship between U and V doesn’t apply to).
I’m confused here, but I’m thinking of cases like: there’s a probability of 1 in 10^20 that God exists, but if so then our best guess is also that 1=2. If God exists, then the utility of an otherwise identical outcome is (1/1)^1000 times what it would otherwise be, so it’s also (1/2)^1000 times what it would otherwise be, so can we ignore that case?
I suspect reasoning like this would produce cutoffs far below Roko’s, though. (And the first argument above probably wouldn’t reproduce normal behavior.)