For 1), the sense I got was that it assumes no progress, and furthermore that if you perform an extrapolation that pleases 21st century Americans but would displease Archimedes or any other random Syracusan, your extrapolation-bearing AGI is going to tile the universe with American flags or episodes of Seinfield.
For 2), it feels a No True Scotsman issue. If by some definition of current, personal volition you exclude anything that isn't obviously a current, personal desire by way of deeming it insincere, then you've just made your point tautological. Do you believe it's possible in principle to sincerely desire to build an AI that implements not your volition, but the coherent extrapolated volition of humanity?
If so, you should not express any incredulity that Eliezer expresses such a desire; it may be a mutant desire but only mutants who desire it would express it.
your extrapolation-bearing AGI is going to tile the universe with American flags
You're right, that would be terrible. They should be Texan flags.
I think there other failure modes that are significant- for example, a world where women are given full moral weight and autonomy would probably be terrifying to someone whose society is centered around women being the most valuable property there is (for both men and women, I imagine- abuse leaves quite the mark on minds).
Taken from some old comments of mine that never did get a satisfactory answer.
1) One of the justifications for CEV was that extrapolating from an American in the 21st century and from Archimedes of Syracuse should give similar results. This seems to assume that change in human values over time is mostly "progress" rather than drift. Do we have any evidence for that, except saying that our modern values are "good" according to themselves, so whatever historical process led to them must have been "progress"?
2) How can anyone sincerely want to build an AI that fulfills anything except their own current, personal volition? If Eliezer wants the the AI to look at humanity and infer its best wishes for the future, why can't he task it with looking at himself and inferring his best idea to fulfill humanity's wishes? Why must this particular thing be spelled out in a document like CEV and not left to the mysterious magic of "intelligence", and what other such things are there?