If it helps, I tried to clarify what the post is and isn’t serious about here (and Eliezer endorses my comment).
I think the title of the post was a mistake, because the post is basically just serious, and priming people to expect an April Fool’s thing was too confusing. Adding in a little April Fool’s afterthought-joke at the end bothers me less, though with hindsight I think the specific joke-line “it’s a preview of what might be needful to say later, if matters really do get that desperate” was a mistake, because it sounds too plausible.
(I complained about the title before the post went live. :P Though I told Eliezer I’d rather see him post this with the bad title than not post at all.)
If it helps, I tried to clarify what the post is and isn’t serious about here (and Eliezer endorses my comment).
I think the title of the post was a mistake, because the post is basically just serious, and priming people to expect an April Fool’s thing was too confusing. Adding in a little April Fool’s afterthought-joke at the end bothers me less, though with hindsight I think the specific joke-line “it’s a preview of what might be needful to say later, if matters really do get that desperate” was a mistake, because it sounds too plausible.
(I complained about the title before the post went live. :P Though I told Eliezer I’d rather see him post this with the bad title than not post at all.)