Rationality: From AI to Zombies

#1

Post by rayalez » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 9:42 AM UTC

Rationality: From AI to Zombies
intelligence.org

Re: Rationality: From AI to Zombies

#2

Post by hunnypot » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 11:12 AM UTC

I'll just say that "intelligence.org" is as heavy-handed as Google buying the .dev TLD.

Re: Rationality: From AI to Zombies

#3

Post by jtheory » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 12:05 PM UTC

hunnypot wrote: post #2

I'll just say that "intelligence.org" is as heavy-handed as Google buying the .dev TLD.

I don't think I could bring myself to be a "Bright" for that reason (see the-brights.net)...

Vague counterpoint -- this is an ebook collecting essays from lesswrong.com, which is a bit more subtle as names go.

Re: Rationality: From AI to Zombies

#4

Post by rkachowski » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 12:09 PM UTC

That Eliezer Yudkowsky is a pretty smart guy. Against all prior expectations (lol), I am now reading Harry Potter fan fiction and enjoying it.[1] The LessWrong sequences are poignant and concise and pushed me down the road of rational thought.

I look forward to getting some of these books on my shelf.

[1] http://hpmor.com/

Re: Rationality: From AI to Zombies

#5

Post by xianshou » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 12:18 PM UTC

This is a collection of Yudkowsky's blog posts on LessWrong, and it's making the rounds now because it forms the basis for most of Harry's rationalist insights in the extremely entertaining and recently finished Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality. (The last chapter of HPMoR went up on Ultimate Pi Day - 3/14/15 - last week.) I picked it up on the advice of some friends, and while the editing is less than perfect, it is overall an impressively well-organized and cross-linked treatise on how to reason.

At the heart of the book is the assertion that rationality is not about justifying why we are right, but thinking how we might be wrong, and paying careful attention to any evidence that puzzles us or could convince us to change our minds. The resulting philosophy is a combination of the falsification principle and the scientific method, applied to your own character. Highly recommended.

Re: Rationality: From AI to Zombies

#6

Post by emiliobumachar » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 12:28 PM UTC

I am currently reading, and loving, Yudkowsky's introduction to Quantum Mechanics from the blog: http://lesswrong.com/lw/pc/quantum_explanations/

Does anyone know whether that sequence has made it to one of these books?

Re: Rationality: From AI to Zombies

#7

Post by pyrois » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 12:48 PM UTC

emiliobumachar wrote: post #6

I am currently reading, and loving, Yudkowsky's introduction to Quantum Mechanics from the blog: http://lesswrong.com/lw/pc/quantum_explanations/ Does anyone know whether that sequence has made it to one of these books?

I quite liked his introduction! Be aware, however, that he dramatically overstates some things. For example, he claims that the many-worlds interpretation is obviously correct. This is basically wrong: it may be correct, but it certainly isn't obviously correct, and many scientists whose entire research is dedicated to quantum mechanics would disagree that many-worlds is correct at all.

There is a long list of alternative explanations[0], with very little evidence to lend support to or contradict any of them (at least, any of the ones that are still around. Some have fallen by the wayside).

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpretations_of_quantum_mec...

Re: Rationality: From AI to Zombies

#8

Post by adamzerner » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 12:57 PM UTC

emiliobumachar wrote: post #6

I am currently reading, and loving, Yudkowsky's introduction to Quantum Mechanics from the blog: http://lesswrong.com/lw/pc/quantum_explanations/ Does anyone know whether that sequence has made it to one of these books?

Yes, it has. Chapter(?) S is titled 'Quantum Physics and Many Worlds'.

Re: Rationality: From AI to Zombies

#9

Post by adamzerner » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 1:12 PM UTC

jtheory wrote: post #3

hunnypot wrote: post #2

I'll just say that "intelligence.org" is as heavy-handed as Google buying the .dev TLD.

I don't think I could bring myself to be a "Bright" for that reason (see the-brights.net)... Vague counterpoint -- this is an ebook collecting essays from lesswrong.com, which is a bit more subtle as names go.

> I don't think I could bring myself to be a "Bright" for that reason (see the-brights.net)...

A name is enough of a reason on it's own?

Re: Rationality: From AI to Zombies

#10

Post by hawkice » Fri, Mar 20, 2015, 1:13 PM UTC

pyrois wrote: post #7

emiliobumachar wrote: post #6

I am currently reading, and loving, Yudkowsky's introduction to Quantum Mechanics from the blog: http://lesswrong.com/lw/pc/quantum_explanations/ Does anyone know whether that sequence has made it to one of these books?

I quite liked his introduction! Be aware, however, that he dramatically overstates some things. For example, he claims that the many-worlds interpretation is obviously correct. This is basically wrong: it may be correct, but it certainly isn't obviously correct, and many scientists whose entire research is dedicated to quantum mechanics would disagree that many-worlds is correct at all. There is a long list of altern…

I think it's fair to say that it's "obvious" when optimizing for the same things Yudkowsky does. For instance, any issue having something to say about the Born rule seems to be his dump stat, if you will. This makes sense, because in the paper where Max Born introduced the rule, he suggests that it indicates only one possible correct interpretation (hint: it was not Many Worlds).

That all being said, no one really disagrees about the predictions of the math, and at least many-worlds has less completely ridiculous misinterpretations by lay-people, so both ends of the spectrum are tolerable to me.