Vladimir_Nesov comments on Controlling Constant Programs - Less Wrong

25 Post author: Vladimir_Nesov 05 September 2010 01:45PM

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Comment author: Perplexed 06 September 2010 03:32:19AM *  2 points [-]

So it sounds like you are saying that the agent() program only represents the decision-theory portion of the agent. The Bayesian cognitive portion of the agent and the part of the agent that prefers some things over others are both modeled in world(). Communication with other agents, logic, all these features of agency are in world(), not in agent().

May I suggest that "agent()" has been misnamed? Shouldn't it be called something more like choice() or decision()? And shouldn't "world()" be named "expected-value-of-decision-by-agent()", or something like that?

Comment author: Vladimir_Nesov 06 September 2010 03:44:13AM *  2 points [-]

Note that world() is part of the agent(). Certainly, world() will become preference in the next post (and cease to be necessarily a program, while agent() must remain a program), but historically this part was always "world program", and preference replaces (subsumes) that, which is not an obvious step.

Comment author: cousin_it 06 September 2010 08:25:30AM *  2 points [-]

Certainly, world() will become preference in the next post

I want to see it!