I try to ask myself whether the tenor of what I’m saying overshadows definitional specificity, and how I can provide a better mood or angle. If my argument is not atonal—if my points line up coherently, such that a willing ear will hear, definitionalist debates should slide on by.
As a descriptivist, rather than a prescriptivist, it really sucks to have to fall back on Socratic methods of pre-establishing definitions, except in highly-technical locations.
Thus, I prefer to avoid arguments which hinge on definitions altogether. This doesn’t preclude examples-based arguments, where for example, various interlocutors are operating off different definitions of the same terms but have different examples.
For example, take the term tai.
For some, tai means not when ai is agentic, but when ai can transform the economy in some large or measurable way. For others, it is when the first agentic ai deployed at scale occurs. Yet still, others have differing definitions! Definitions which wildly transform predictions and change alignment discussions. Despite using the term with each other in different ways- with separate definitions- interlocutors often do not notice (or perhaps are subconsciously able to resolve the discrepancy?)!
TAI seems like a partially good example for illustrating my point: I agree that it’s crucial that people have the same thing in mind when debating about TAI in a discussion, but I also think it’s important to recognize that the goal of the discussion is (probably!) not “how should everyone everywhere define TAI” and instead is probably something like “when will we first see ‘TAI.’” In that case, you should just choose whichever definition of TAI makes for a good, productive discussion, rather than trying to forcefully hammer out “the definition” of TAI.
I say partially good, however, because thankfully the term TAI has not taken such historically established root in people’s minds and in dictionaries, so I think (hope!) most people accept there is not “a (single) definition.”
Words like “science,” “leadership,” “Middle East,” and “ethics,” however… not the same story 😩🤖
I try to ask myself whether the tenor of what I’m saying overshadows definitional specificity, and how I can provide a better mood or angle. If my argument is not atonal—if my points line up coherently, such that a willing ear will hear, definitionalist debates should slide on by.
As a descriptivist, rather than a prescriptivist, it really sucks to have to fall back on Socratic methods of pre-establishing definitions, except in highly-technical locations.
Thus, I prefer to avoid arguments which hinge on definitions altogether. This doesn’t preclude examples-based arguments, where for example, various interlocutors are operating off different definitions of the same terms but have different examples.
For example, take the term tai.
For some, tai means not when ai is agentic, but when ai can transform the economy in some large or measurable way. For others, it is when the first agentic ai deployed at scale occurs. Yet still, others have differing definitions! Definitions which wildly transform predictions and change alignment discussions. Despite using the term with each other in different ways- with separate definitions- interlocutors often do not notice (or perhaps are subconsciously able to resolve the discrepancy?)!
TAI seems like a partially good example for illustrating my point: I agree that it’s crucial that people have the same thing in mind when debating about TAI in a discussion, but I also think it’s important to recognize that the goal of the discussion is (probably!) not “how should everyone everywhere define TAI” and instead is probably something like “when will we first see ‘TAI.’” In that case, you should just choose whichever definition of TAI makes for a good, productive discussion, rather than trying to forcefully hammer out “the definition” of TAI.
I say partially good, however, because thankfully the term TAI has not taken such historically established root in people’s minds and in dictionaries, so I think (hope!) most people accept there is not “a (single) definition.”
Words like “science,” “leadership,” “Middle East,” and “ethics,” however… not the same story 😩🤖