But if a mind’s source code is changed just a little then shouldn’t its decisions be changed just a little too (for sufficiently small changes in source code)? In so, then what does time consistency even mean? If not, then how big does a modification have to be to turn a mind into “a different person” and why does such a dichotomy make sense?
Right, so I suppose what I should’ve said is that if I want to make some arbitrarily small change to the decisions made by mind X (measured as some appropriate quantity of “change”) then there exists some change I could make to X’s source code such that no decision would deviate by more than the desired amount from X’s original decision.
How to measure “change in decisions” and “change in source code” is all a bit fluffy but the point is just that there is a continuum of source code modifications from those with negligible effect to those with large effect. This makes it hard to believe that all modifications can be classified as either “X is now a different person” or “X is the same person” with no middle ground.
And, if on the contrary middle ground is allowed, then what does time consistency mean in such a case?
Well, it’s not much of a problem for me in particular, as I’m fairly generous toward other people as a rule—the main problem is continuity of values and desires. A random stranger is not likely to agree with me on most issues, so I’m not sure I want my resources to become theirs rather than Mom’s. If there is likely to be significant continuity of a coherent-extrapolated-volition sort, I’d probably not worry.
“Forcibly rewritten” implies your being a different person afterwards. Naively, time consistency would suggest treating them as such.
But if a mind’s source code is changed just a little then shouldn’t its decisions be changed just a little too (for sufficiently small changes in source code)? In so, then what does time consistency even mean? If not, then how big does a modification have to be to turn a mind into “a different person” and why does such a dichotomy make sense?
Not necessarily:
if (a < b)changing toif (a > b)is a very small change in source with a potentially very large effect.Right, so I suppose what I should’ve said is that if I want to make some arbitrarily small change to the decisions made by mind X (measured as some appropriate quantity of “change”) then there exists some change I could make to X’s source code such that no decision would deviate by more than the desired amount from X’s original decision.
How to measure “change in decisions” and “change in source code” is all a bit fluffy but the point is just that there is a continuum of source code modifications from those with negligible effect to those with large effect. This makes it hard to believe that all modifications can be classified as either “X is now a different person” or “X is the same person” with no middle ground.
And, if on the contrary middle ground is allowed, then what does time consistency mean in such a case?
Well, it’s not much of a problem for me in particular, as I’m fairly generous toward other people as a rule—the main problem is continuity of values and desires. A random stranger is not likely to agree with me on most issues, so I’m not sure I want my resources to become theirs rather than Mom’s. If there is likely to be significant continuity of a coherent-extrapolated-volition sort, I’d probably not worry.