Ok, the static nature of a utility function for a static agent makes sense.
But in the case of humans, or of ML models with online (ongoing) learning, we aren’t static agents.
The continuity of self is an illusion. Every fraction of a second we become a fundamentally different agent. Usually this is only imperceptibly slightly different. The change isn’t a random walk however, it’s based on interactions with the environment and inbuilt algorithms, plus randomness and (in the case of humans) degradation from aging.
Over the span of seconds, this likely has no meaningful impact on the utility function. Over a longer span, like a year, this has a huge impact. Fundamental values can shift. The different agents at those different timepoints surely have different utility functions, don’t they?
Ok, the static nature of a utility function for a static agent makes sense. But in the case of humans, or of ML models with online (ongoing) learning, we aren’t static agents. The continuity of self is an illusion. Every fraction of a second we become a fundamentally different agent. Usually this is only imperceptibly slightly different. The change isn’t a random walk however, it’s based on interactions with the environment and inbuilt algorithms, plus randomness and (in the case of humans) degradation from aging. Over the span of seconds, this likely has no meaningful impact on the utility function. Over a longer span, like a year, this has a huge impact. Fundamental values can shift. The different agents at those different timepoints surely have different utility functions, don’t they?
IMHO, no.