The argument I quoted does not mention evolution. I’m not saying that the argument can’t be patched, I’m saying that the argument is inadequate as stated. I should note, however, that evolution selects organisms based on their ability to do optimisation_2, not their ability to do optimisation_1. It’s therefore not clear when and how you can simply “generalise from evolution”.
I meant the reason people think the jump is possible is because of evolution. (Evolution was just running, business as usual, and suddenly! We’re on the moon!)
I have seen better versions of this argument that mention humans or evolutionary algorithms explicitly. And you’re right—the argument isn’t clear on that. The jump is ‘a search for better plans will find better plans’.
Generalizing from Evolution.
The argument I quoted does not mention evolution. I’m not saying that the argument can’t be patched, I’m saying that the argument is inadequate as stated. I should note, however, that evolution selects organisms based on their ability to do optimisation_2, not their ability to do optimisation_1. It’s therefore not clear when and how you can simply “generalise from evolution”.
I meant the reason people think the jump is possible is because of evolution. (Evolution was just running, business as usual, and suddenly! We’re on the moon!)
I have seen better versions of this argument that mention humans or evolutionary algorithms explicitly. And you’re right—the argument isn’t clear on that. The jump is ‘a search for better plans will find better plans’.