Would it be a valid instructional technique to give someone (particularly someone congenitally incapable of learning any other way) the opportunity to try out a few iterations of the ‘game’ Omega is offering, with clearly denominated but strategically worthless play money in place of the actual rewards?
The main issue with that is that Newcomb’s problem is predicated on the assumption that you prefer getting a million dollars to getting a thousand dollars. For the play money iterations, that assumption would not hold.
The second issue with iterating Newcomb’s more generally is that it gives the agent an opportunity to precommit to one-boxing. The problem is more interesting and more difficult if you face it without having had that opportunity.
For the play money iterations, that assumption would not hold.
Why not? People can get pretty competitive even when there’s nothing really at stake, and current-iteration play money is a proxy for future-iteration real money.
Would it be a valid instructional technique to give someone (particularly someone congenitally incapable of learning any other way) the opportunity to try out a few iterations of the ‘game’ Omega is offering, with clearly denominated but strategically worthless play money in place of the actual rewards?
The main issue with that is that Newcomb’s problem is predicated on the assumption that you prefer getting a million dollars to getting a thousand dollars. For the play money iterations, that assumption would not hold.
The second issue with iterating Newcomb’s more generally is that it gives the agent an opportunity to precommit to one-boxing. The problem is more interesting and more difficult if you face it without having had that opportunity.
Why not? People can get pretty competitive even when there’s nothing really at stake, and current-iteration play money is a proxy for future-iteration real money.