Epistemic: -> finding out that I can’t, even given an exponentially bigger universe to compute in, be predicted. It would also potentially destroy my sense of identity. Even if I can be predicted, I can do anything I want: it’s just that what I’ll want is constrained. However, if the converse is true, any want I feel has nothing to do with me (and my intuitive sense of identity is similar to ‘something that generates the wants and thoughts that I have’) and I’m not sure I’ll feel particularly obliged to satisfy them. (Warning: writing it out made it sound to me like post-hoc rationalisation. But far as I can make out, I believe it.)
-> finding out that I’m being controlled by direct neurological tinkering or very thorough manipulation. Manipulation to some degree is very common, and the line between influence and manipulation is not very clean, but there is definitely an amount of manipulation that will make me go, ‘no free will.’ Basically, if you can make it clear that my wants are being constrained by intentions.
Psychological and physical: I find it hard to come up with anything that won’t look normal. If my wants are being constrained, it’ll just feel like stronger wants acting contrariwise. However, I can imagine something ineffable keeping me away from certain thoughts and wants… but that happens anyway too—Yudkowsky’s written shitloads about that feeling (also, in a very different context, me). Physically, involuntary motions happen all the time, and often I can’t move quite the way I want to. Physical constraints, I dismiss them as.
Epistemic:
-> finding out that I can’t, even given an exponentially bigger universe to compute in, be predicted.
It would also potentially destroy my sense of identity. Even if I can be predicted, I can do anything I want: it’s just that what I’ll want is constrained. However, if the converse is true, any want I feel has nothing to do with me (and my intuitive sense of identity is similar to ‘something that generates the wants and thoughts that I have’) and I’m not sure I’ll feel particularly obliged to satisfy them.
(Warning: writing it out made it sound to me like post-hoc rationalisation. But far as I can make out, I believe it.)
-> finding out that I’m being controlled by direct neurological tinkering or very thorough manipulation.
Manipulation to some degree is very common, and the line between influence and manipulation is not very clean, but there is definitely an amount of manipulation that will make me go, ‘no free will.’ Basically, if you can make it clear that my wants are being constrained by intentions.
Psychological and physical: I find it hard to come up with anything that won’t look normal. If my wants are being constrained, it’ll just feel like stronger wants acting contrariwise. However, I can imagine something ineffable keeping me away from certain thoughts and wants… but that happens anyway too—Yudkowsky’s written shitloads about that feeling (also, in a very different context, me).
Physically, involuntary motions happen all the time, and often I can’t move quite the way I want to. Physical constraints, I dismiss them as.