Tapatakt

Karma: 906

Tapatakt 9 Nov 2024 22:03 UTC
4 points
0
on: Poll: what’s your impression of altruism?
Sometimes altruism is truly selfless (if we don’t use too broad tautological definition of self-interest).
Sometimes altruism is actually an enlightened/disguised/corrupted/decadent self-interest.
I feel like there is some sense in which first kind is better then second, but can we have more of whatever kind, please?

Tapatakt 9 Nov 2024 18:07 UTC
1 point
0
in reply to: Dagon’s comment on: Tapatakt’s Shortform
For high-frequency (or mid-frequency) trading, 1% of the transaction is 3 or 4 times the expected value from the trade.
I’m very much not sure discouraging HFT is a bad thing.
this probably doesn’t matter unless the transaction tax REPLACES other taxes rather than being in addition to
I imagine that it would replace/reduce some of the other taxes so the government would get the same amount of money.
it encourages companies to do things in-house rather than outsourcing or partnering, since inside-company “transactions” aren’t real money and aren’t taxed
But normal taxes have the same effect, don’t they?

Tapatakt 9 Nov 2024 17:59 UTC
8 points
1
on: Tapatakt’s Shortform
I came up with the decision theory problem. It has the same moral as xor-blackmail, but I think it’s much easier to understand:
Omega has chosen you for an experiment:
1. First, Omega predicts your choice in a potential future offer.
2. Omega rolls a die. Omega doesn’t show you the result.
3. If Omega predicted you would choose $200, they will only make you an offer if the die shows 6.
4. If Omega predicted you would choose $100, they will make you an offer if the die shows any number except 1.
5. Omega’s offer, if made, is simple: “Would you like $100 or $200?”
You received an offer from Omega. Which amount do you choose?
I didn’t come up with a сatchy name, though.

Tapatakt 9 Nov 2024 17:37 UTC
1 point
0
in reply to: Shankar Sivarajan’s comment on: Tapatakt’s Shortform
First (possibly dumb) thought: could it be compensated by printing fewer large bills? Again, poor people would not care, but big business transactions with cash would become less convenient.

Tapatakt 9 Nov 2024 17:33 UTC
1 point
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in reply to: Archimedes’s comment on: Tapatakt’s Shortform
Wow, really? I guess it’s American thing. I think I know only one person with the credit card. And she only uses it up to the interest-free limit to “farm” her reputation with the bank in case she really needs a loan, so she doesn’t actually pay the fee.

Tapatakt 9 Nov 2024 14:41 UTC
1 point
0
on: Tapatakt’s Shortform
Epistemic state: thoughts off the top of my head, not the economist at all, talked with Claude about it
Why is there almost nowhere a small (something like 1%) universal tax on digital money transfers? It looks like a good idea to me:
- it’s very predictable
- no one except banks has to do any paperwork
- it’s kinda progressive, if you are poor you can use cash
I see probable negative effects… but doesn’t VAT and individial income tax just already have the same effects, so if this tax replace [parts of] those nothing will change much?
Also, as I understand, it would discourage high-frequency trading. I’m not sure if this would be a feature or a bug, but my current very superficial understanding leans towards the former.
Why is it a bad idea?

Tapatakt 5 Nov 2024 18:01 UTC
1 point
0
on: What’s a good book for a technically-minded 11-year old?
Only one mention of Jules Verne in answers seems weird to me.
First and foremost, “The Mysterious Island”. (But maybe it has already been read at nine?)

Tapatakt 5 Nov 2024 16:13 UTC
4 points
0
in reply to: L Rudolf L’s comment on: Survival without dignity
I guess the big problem for someone who tries to do it not in small form is that while you write the story it is already getting old. There are writers who can write a novel in a season, but not many. At least if we talk about good writers. Hm-m-m, did rationalists try to hire Stephen King? :)

Tapatakt 4 Nov 2024 15:37 UTC
17 points
14
on: Survival without dignity
I often think something like “It’s a shame there’s so little modern science fiction that takes AI developments into account”. Thanks for doing something in this niche, even if in such small form!

Tapatakt 2 Nov 2024 13:28 UTC
2 points
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in reply to: Warty’s comment on: I turned decision theory problems into memes about trolleys
I always understood it as “not pull → trolley does not turn; pull → trolley turns”. It definitely works like this on the original picture.

Tapatakt 2 Nov 2024 12:28 UTC
2 points
0
in reply to: Warty’s comment on: I turned decision theory problems into memes about trolleys
I really like it! One remark, though: two upper tracks must be swapped, otherwise it’s possible to precommit by staying in place and not running to the lever.

Tapatakt 1 Nov 2024 13:58 UTC
1 point
1
in reply to: notfnofn’s comment on: I turned decision theory problems into memes about trolleys
The point is Omega would not send it to you it if it was false and Omega would always send it to you if it was true.

Tapatakt 31 Oct 2024 18:44 UTC
2 points
0
in reply to: antanaclasis’s comment on: I turned decision theory problems into memes about trolleys
O-ops, you’re absolutely right, I accidentally missed “not” when I was rewriting the text. Fixed now. Thank you!

Tapatakt 31 Oct 2024 12:30 UTC
1 point
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in reply to: Alexander de Vries’s comment on: I turned decision theory problems into memes about trolleys
“if and only if this message is true”

Tapatakt 31 Oct 2024 11:04 UTC
5 points
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in reply to: avturchin’s comment on: I turned decision theory problems into memes about trolleys
Death in Damascus is easy, but boring.
Doomsday Argument is not a decision theory problem… but it can be turned into one… I think the trolley version would be too big and complicated, though.
Obviously, only problems with discrete choice can be expressed as a Trolley problems.

I turned decision theory problems into memes about trolleys

Tapatakt30 Oct 2024 20:13 UTC

103 points

20 comments1 min readLW link

Tapatakt 30 Sep 2024 19:10 UTC
1 point
0
in reply to: Dweomite’s comment on: What are the best arguments for/against AIs being “slightly ‘nice’”?
One could claim that “the true spirit of friendship” is loving someone unconditionally or something, and that might be simple, but I don’t think that’s what humans actually implement.
Yeah, I agree that humans implement something more complex. But it is what we want AI to implement, isn’t it? And it looks like may be quite natural abstraction to have.
(But again, it’s useless while we don’t know how to direct AI to the specific abstraction.)

Tapatakt 30 Sep 2024 18:05 UTC
3 points
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in reply to: Thane Ruthenis’s comment on: What are the best arguments for/against AIs being “slightly ‘nice’”?
I hope “the way humans care about their friends” is another natural abstraction, something like “my utility function includes link to yours utility function”. But we still don’t know how to direct AI to the specific abstraction, so it’s not a big hope.

Tapatakt 26 Sep 2024 15:55 UTC
5 points
1
on: [Completed] The 2024 Petrov Day Scenario
I think making an opt-in link as a big red button and posting it before the rules were published caused a pre-selection of players in favor of those who would press the big red button. Which is… kinda realistic for generals, I think, but not realistic for citizens.

Tapatakt 25 Sep 2024 17:34 UTC
1 point
0
in reply to: Tapatakt’s comment on: Tapatakt’s Shortform
I mean, if I don’t want to “launch the nukes”, why would I even opt-in?