John_Baez comments on Existential Risk and Public Relations - Less Wrong

36 Post author: multifoliaterose 15 August 2010 07:16AM

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Comment author: XiXiDu 15 August 2010 01:32:06PM *  16 points [-]

Negative reactions to Yudkowsky from various people (academics concerned with x-risk), just within the past few weeks:

I also have an extreme distaste for Eliezer Yudkowsky, and so I have a hard time forcing myself to cooperate with any organization that he is included in, but that is a personal matter.

You know, maybe I'm not all that interested in any sort of relationship with SIAI after all if this, and Yudkowsky, are the best you have to offer.

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There are certainly many reasons to doubt the belief system of a cult based around the haphazard musings of a high school dropout, who has never written a single computer program but professes to be an expert on AI. As you point out none of the real AI experts are crying chicken little, and only a handful of AI researchers, cognitive scientists or philosophers take the FAI idea seriously.

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Wow, that's an incredibly arrogant put-down by Eliezer..SIAI won't win many friends if he puts things like that...

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...he seems to have lost his mind and written out of strong feelings. I disagree with him on most of these matters.

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Questions of priority - and the relative intensity of suffering between members of different species - need to be distinguished from the question of whether other sentient beings have moral status at all. I guess that was what shocked me about Eliezer's bald assertion that frogs have no moral status. After all, humans may be less sentient than frogs compared to our posthuman successors. So it's unsettling to think that posthumans might give simple-minded humans the same level of moral consideration that Elizeer accords frogs.

I was told that the quotes above state some ad hominem falsehoods regarding Eliezer. I think it is appropriate to edit the message to show that indeed some person might not be have been honest, or clueful. Otherwise I'll unnecessary end up perpetuating possible ad hominem attacks.

Comment author: Jonathan_Graehl 16 August 2010 10:10:25PM 3 points [-]

I guess that was what shocked me about Eliezer's bald assertion that frogs have no moral status.

This seems a rather minor objection.

Comment author: Emile 18 August 2010 03:26:20PM 6 points [-]

But frogs are CUTE!

And existential risks are boring, and only interest Sci-Fi nerds.