According to a friend of mine in AI, there’s a substantial contingent of people who got into AI safety via Friendship is Optimal. They will only reveal this after several drinks. Until then, they will cite HPMOR. Which means we are probably overvaluing HPMOR and undervaluing FIO.
I tried to invite Iceman to LessOnline, but I suspect he no longer checks the old email associated with that account. If anyone knows up to date contact info, I’d appreciate you intro-ing us or just letting him know we’d love to have him join.
Have you thought about making an altered version that strips out enough of the My Little Pony-IP to be able to sell the book on Amazon KDP? (or let someone else do that for you if you don’t want to do the work?)
I haven’t read Friendship is Optimal, but from the synopsis it sounds like it’s clearly and explicitly about AI doom and AI safety, whereas HPMoR is mainly about rationality and only implicitly about x-risk and AI safety?
I think it’s also “My Little Pony Fanfics are more cringe than Harry Potter fanfics, and there is something about the combo of My Little Pony and AIs taking over the world that is extra cringe.”
Sure, but presumably that brought them to LW where AI safety is a topic.
But maybe the point at which you get into AI safety is less clear once you are on LW. And FO is a something that can more clearly named. So it could all just be availability heuristic.
I wonder if maybe these readers found the story at that time as a result of first being bronies, and I wonder if bronies still think of themselves as a persecuted class.
According to a friend of mine in AI, there’s a substantial contingent of people who got into AI safety via Friendship is Optimal. They will only reveal this after several drinks. Until then, they will cite HPMOR. Which means we are probably overvaluing HPMOR and undervaluing FIO.
But did it inspire them to try to stop CelestAI or to start her? I guess you might need some more drinks for that one...
I tried to invite Iceman to LessOnline, but I suspect he no longer checks the old email associated with that account. If anyone knows up to date contact info, I’d appreciate you intro-ing us or just letting him know we’d love to have him join.
I’ll pass, but thanks.
Have you thought about making an altered version that strips out enough of the My Little Pony-IP to be able to sell the book on Amazon KDP? (or let someone else do that for you if you don’t want to do the work?)
Why do you think that is the case? I mean a) why do they reveal that only after a few drinks and b) why was that the convincing story—and not HPMoR?
I haven’t read Friendship is Optimal, but from the synopsis it sounds like it’s clearly and explicitly about AI doom and AI safety, whereas HPMoR is mainly about rationality and only implicitly about x-risk and AI safety?
I think it’s also “My Little Pony Fanfics are more cringe than Harry Potter fanfics, and there is something about the combo of My Little Pony and AIs taking over the world that is extra cringe.”
I feel like it should just loop back around to being cool at that point but I guess that’s not how it works.
It’s looped back to cool for me, I’m going to check it out.
it’s good though! but yeah a bit cringe, as all the best things are.
Sure, but presumably that brought them to LW where AI safety is a topic.
But maybe the point at which you get into AI safety is less clear once you are on LW. And FO is a something that can more clearly named. So it could all just be availability heuristic.
I wonder if maybe these readers found the story at that time as a result of first being bronies, and I wonder if bronies still think of themselves as a persecuted class.
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/CHD5m9fnosr7L3dto/friendship-is-optimal-a-my-little-pony-fanfic-about-an?commentId=p6br8sPHG5QysfFkw