“ability to improve decision theory via philosophical reasoning” (as opposed to CDT-AI changing into XDT and then being stuck with that)
XDT (or in Eliezer’s words, “crippled and inelegant form of TDT”) is closer to TDT but still worse. For example, XDT would fail to acausally control/trade with other agents living before the time of its self-modification, or in other possible worlds.
Ah, yes, I agree that CDT would modify to XDT rather than TDT, though the fact that it self modifies at all shows that goal driven agents can change decision theories because the new decision theory helps it achieve its goal. I do think that it’s important to consider how a particular decision theory can decide to self modify, and to design an agent with a decision theory that can self modify in good ways.
I wrote earlier
XDT (or in Eliezer’s words, “crippled and inelegant form of TDT”) is closer to TDT but still worse. For example, XDT would fail to acausally control/trade with other agents living before the time of its self-modification, or in other possible worlds.
Ah, yes, I agree that CDT would modify to XDT rather than TDT, though the fact that it self modifies at all shows that goal driven agents can change decision theories because the new decision theory helps it achieve its goal. I do think that it’s important to consider how a particular decision theory can decide to self modify, and to design an agent with a decision theory that can self modify in good ways.