steven0461 comments on Politics is the Mind-Killer - Less Wrong
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Comments (210)
What shouldn't I do, and why ?
It looks to me like we have two conflicting opinions:
I myself am on the fence about this, and I want to be persuaded one way or the other, because the fence is uncomfortable to sit on.
I meant Jake shouldn't write the post; sorry for the confusion. Note that the two positions you list could be compatible.
OIC, sorry for the misunderstanding.
True, but it could be a fine line to walk. If I believed that politics constitutes an x-risk, then, given the fact that most people do engage in politics in some way (even if merely by talking about it), I have a choice to make: do I engage in politics, or not ? If I engage, I might make matters worse; if I fail to engage, I might fail to make matters better and then it will be too late, because politics in its current state will destroy us all.
I can see parallels between this issue and AI research: engaging in AI research increases the probability of an unboxed UnFriendly AI converting us all into computronium (or paperclips); and yet, failing to engage decreases the probability that the AI will be Friendly (assuming that I'm good at AI and concerned about Friendliness).
I think a discussion of what, if any, political involvement is optimal could be a productive one. But I don't think the post that begins such a discussion should be written by someone whose mind has already been snatched by political ideology.