If the forbidden topic would be made public (and people would believe it), it would result in a steep rise of donations towards the SIAI. That alone is enough to conclude that the SIAI is not trying to hold back something that would discredit it as an organisation concerned with charitable objectives. The censoring of the information was in accordance with their goal of trying to prevent unfriendly artificial intelligence. Making the subject matter public did already harm some people and could harm people in future.
But the forbidden topic is already public. All the effects that would follow from it being public would already follow. THE HORSE HAS BOLTED. It’s entirely unclear to me what pretending it hasn’t does for the problem or the credibility of the SIAI.
Of course, if Clippy were clever he would then offer to sell SIAI a commitment to never release the UFAI in exchange for a commitment to produce a fixed number of paperclips per year, in perpetuity.
Admittedly, his mastery of human signaling probably isn’t nuanced enough to prevent that from sounding like blackmail.
If the forbidden topic would be made public (and people would believe it), it would result in a steep rise of donations towards the SIAI.
I really don’t see how that follows. Will more of the public take it seriously? As I have noted, so far the reaction from people outside SIAI/LW has been “They did WHAT? Are they IDIOTS?”
The censoring of the information was in accordance with their goal of trying to prevent unfriendly artificial intelligence.
That doesn’t make it not stupid or not counterproductive. Sincere stupidity is not less stupid than insincere stupidity. Indeed, sincere stupidity is more problematic in my experience as the sincere are less likely to back down, whereas the insincere will more quickly hop to a different idea.
Making the subject matter public did already harm some people
Hmm, okay. But that, I suggest, appears to have been a case of reasoning oneself stupid.
It does, of course, account for SIAI continuing to attempt to secure the stable doors after the horse has been dancing around in a field for several months taunting them with “COME ON IF YOU THINK YOU’RE HARD ENOUGH.”
(I upvoted XiXiDu’s comment here because he did actually supply a substantive response in PM, well deserving of a vote, and I felt this should be encouraged by reward.)
If the forbidden topic would be made public (and people would believe it), it would result in a steep rise of donations towards the SIAI. That alone is enough to conclude that the SIAI is not trying to hold back something that would discredit it as an organisation concerned with charitable objectives. The censoring of the information was in accordance with their goal of trying to prevent unfriendly artificial intelligence. Making the subject matter public did already harm some people and could harm people in future.
But the forbidden topic is already public. All the effects that would follow from it being public would already follow. THE HORSE HAS BOLTED. It’s entirely unclear to me what pretending it hasn’t does for the problem or the credibility of the SIAI.
It is not as public as you think. If it was then people like waitingforgodel wouldn’t ask about it.
I’m just trying to figure out how to behave without being able talk about it directly. It’s also really interesting on many levels.
Rather more public than a long forgotten counterfactual discussion collecting dust in the blog’s history books would be. :P
Precisely. The place to hide a needle is in a large stack of needles.
The choice here was between “bad” and “worse”—a trolley problem, a lose-lose hypothetical—and they appear to have chosen “worse”.
I prefer to outsource my needle-keeping security to Clippy in exchange for allowing certain ‘bending’ liberties from time to time. :)
Upvoted for LOL value. We’ll tell Clippy the terrible, no good, very bad idea with reasons as to why this would hamper the production of paperclips.
“Hi! I see you’ve accidentally the whole uFAI! Would you like help turning it into paperclips?”
Brilliant.
Frankly, Clippy would be better than the Forbidden Idea. At least Clippy just wants paperclips.
Of course, if Clippy were clever he would then offer to sell SIAI a commitment to never release the UFAI in exchange for a commitment to produce a fixed number of paperclips per year, in perpetuity.
Admittedly, his mastery of human signaling probably isn’t nuanced enough to prevent that from sounding like blackmail.
I really don’t see how that follows. Will more of the public take it seriously? As I have noted, so far the reaction from people outside SIAI/LW has been “They did WHAT? Are they IDIOTS?”
That doesn’t make it not stupid or not counterproductive. Sincere stupidity is not less stupid than insincere stupidity. Indeed, sincere stupidity is more problematic in my experience as the sincere are less likely to back down, whereas the insincere will more quickly hop to a different idea.
Citation needed.
Citation needed.
I sent you another PM.
Hmm, okay. But that, I suggest, appears to have been a case of reasoning oneself stupid.
It does, of course, account for SIAI continuing to attempt to secure the stable doors after the horse has been dancing around in a field for several months taunting them with “COME ON IF YOU THINK YOU’RE HARD ENOUGH.”
(I upvoted XiXiDu’s comment here because he did actually supply a substantive response in PM, well deserving of a vote, and I felt this should be encouraged by reward.)