Re:Emergent abilities of large language models
by pron on Friday April 14, 2023 @06:22AM
(#35567721)
> the moral imperative of protecting humanity from extinction
Can you explain the origin of that moral imperative? It sounds like Henry Sidgwik's utilitarianism, as he spoke of existential risk as a consequence of his attempt to axiomatise moral philosophy. But it was precisely because his axioms led to questionable conclusions that many moral philosophers rejected utilitarianism in the 20th century. I'm aware it's had some sort of a comeback in Oxford University, but it's far from being any kind of consensus, so when you speak of such a "moral imperative" you're already on shaky ground.
I mean, I would understand if you said "a moral imperative not to harm people", but speaking of "humanity" and "extinction" sounds like something you'd hear from an adherent of Rationalism (a new-age science fiction based religion that originated in Northern California).
Can you explain the origin of that moral imperative? It sounds like Henry Sidgwik's utilitarianism, as he spoke of existential risk as a consequence of his attempt to axiomatise moral philosophy. But it was precisely because his axioms led to questionable conclusions that many moral philosophers rejected utilitarianism in the 20th century. I'm aware it's had some sort of a comeback in Oxford University, but it's far from being any kind of consensus, so when you speak of such a "moral imperative" you're already on shaky ground.
I mean, I would understand if you said "a moral imperative not to harm people", but speaking of "humanity" and "extinction" sounds like something you'd hear from an adherent of Rationalism (a new-age science fiction based religion that originated in Northern California).