Also, human lives can have different instrumental value but the same inherent value, such that (for instance) a researcher in area X that has the potential to save many, many lives is worth more instrumentally than a random man-on-the-street.
Joshua, what kind of scenarios could those be? (But I would do a straightforward expected-lives-saved calculation, keeping in mind the uncertainty of whether it would actually move the Singularity forward, and whether bad PR and having the police on my tail could delay the Singularity. The actual action would depend quite sensitively on the circumstances.)
Stuart, while this isn’t exactly my topic, I believe some models of physics require the universe to be infinite, and so if one of those models is true with high probability then the universe is infinite with high probability. As Eliezer said, there are at least three reasons (spatially infinite universe, chaotic inflation, many-worlds interpretation) to believe this. I have a hard time believing they’re all wrong.
Also, human lives can have different instrumental value but the same inherent value, such that (for instance) a researcher in area X that has the potential to save many, many lives is worth more instrumentally than a random man-on-the-street.
Joshua, what kind of scenarios could those be? (But I would do a straightforward expected-lives-saved calculation, keeping in mind the uncertainty of whether it would actually move the Singularity forward, and whether bad PR and having the police on my tail could delay the Singularity. The actual action would depend quite sensitively on the circumstances.)
Stuart, while this isn’t exactly my topic, I believe some models of physics require the universe to be infinite, and so if one of those models is true with high probability then the universe is infinite with high probability. As Eliezer said, there are at least three reasons (spatially infinite universe, chaotic inflation, many-worlds interpretation) to believe this. I have a hard time believing they’re all wrong.