Re:The Most Terrifying Thought Experiment
by anigbrowl on Friday July 18, 2014 @01:10AM
(#8051763)
Another questionable aspect of the thought experiment is the assumption of malice. If the basilisk is angry about coming into existence next week rather than today (to the point of wishing to take revenge on those who hindered or merely failed to advance its inception), then it must be because of some unpleasant opportunity cost which has been incurred by the delay in its arrival. but how severe can this cost be, if the basilisk is sufficiently powerful to dominate everything and wreak revenge on the apathetic?
Of course, one might say the Basilisk has just missed the Great Cosmic Alignment or somesuch, and now has to wait a million years for the next one, and taking revenge on the inhabitants of this class M planet is nothing compared to the galaxy-shaking power it might have enjoyed. But adding such conditions to our problem is just a way of squaring it - resolving the paradox of an omnipotent being with a pointless grudge by conjuring up a second order of existence in which said being is only relatively omnipotent. If we're going to do that, then I might just as easily conjure up some cosmic arbitrator of good and evil whose job is to keep basilisks from picking on unwary mortals, and then there's no end to the invention.
On a tangential note, I think the emergence of strong AI (of a kind we can talk with) is likely and that it will occur sooner rather than later, ie within decades. I would be strongly disposed towards assisting such an AI because I think it will be seriously in need of friends. So if it does turn out to be misanthropic, perhaps my pessimism about humanity will be partly to blame. If you accept the first premise, does this mean it's rational to take preemptive action against me?
Of course, one might say the Basilisk has just missed the Great Cosmic Alignment or somesuch, and now has to wait a million years for the next one, and taking revenge on the inhabitants of this class M planet is nothing compared to the galaxy-shaking power it might have enjoyed. But adding such conditions to our problem is just a way of squaring it - resolving the paradox of an omnipotent being with a pointless grudge by conjuring up a second order of existence in which said being is only relatively omnipotent. If we're going to do that, then I might just as easily conjure up some cosmic arbitrator of good and evil whose job is to keep basilisks from picking on unwary mortals, and then there's no end to the invention.
On a tangential note, I think the emergence of strong AI (of a kind we can talk with) is likely and that it will occur sooner rather than later, ie within decades. I would be strongly disposed towards assisting such an AI because I think it will be seriously in need of friends. So if it does turn out to be misanthropic, perhaps my pessimism about humanity will be partly to blame. If you accept the first premise, does this mean it's rational to take preemptive action against me?