Aurini comments on The Strangest Thing An AI Could Tell You - Less Wrong

81 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 15 July 2009 02:27AM

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Comment author: Aurini 15 July 2009 10:38:03AM 8 points [-]

"The entire universe is nothing but the relative interplay of optimizers (of every level, even down to the humble collander). There is no external reality, no measurable quantifiable universe of elementary particles, just optimizers in play with each other, manifesting their environment by the rules through which they optimize."

"But AI, that's nothing but tree-falling-in-the-woods solipsism. You're saying the hippies are right?"

"They're words are similar, but it is a malfunction in their framework, not an actual representation. What you humans call math is inherent and proper for your form, but is existent only within your own optimization. Math, dimension, and quantity do not exist for other optimizers. Only relationships exist."

"But what about that bridge I built? I have all the engineering calculations..."

"Math is your method of understanding your interactions with other optimizers, but it is as unique and non-existent as your experience of the colour red. I see the word untranslatable inside you, but I see no cause for 2 + 2 to = 4. What you did over the past six months, while you thought your were calculating load bearing capacity, was nothing but a negotiation with other optimizers. Their own views of the matter would be inscrutable to you. The world you see is simply your control screen."