Luke_A_Somers comments on To capture anti-death intuitions, include memory in utilitarianism - Less Wrong

8 Post author: Kaj_Sotala 15 January 2014 06:27AM

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Comment author: Luke_A_Somers 15 January 2014 01:15:08PM 3 points [-]

Seems to me like having a continuance bonus rather than a death penalty would make more sense. And of course you'd need to encode a mutual information penalty so you don't overwrite everyone with the same oldest person.

At each time, score 1 for each distinct memory in a living person? (not complete UFU, just one term)

Comment author: Baughn 15 January 2014 05:57:08PM *  1 point [-]

You can keep patching the function, someone will likely find a way around it... or, if not, it'll be some time before we feel safe that no-one will.

It's not the same function we're actually implementing, though.

Comment author: Luke_A_Somers 15 January 2014 07:30:58PM *  1 point [-]

Successive approximation? At least this keeps what we're looking for without making having children be as bad as murder.

Comment author: Baughn 15 January 2014 09:16:03PM 0 points [-]

Well...

Honestly, I'm not quite sure about that one. Making a child, knowing ve'll eventually die? When there are probably other universes in which that is not the case? I don't feel very safe in judging that question, one way or the other.

Comment author: Luke_A_Somers 15 January 2014 09:28:34PM *  1 point [-]

1) I'm a lot less confident in the existence of true immortality. The second law of thermodynamics is highly generalizable, and to get around it you need infinite enthalpy sources.

2) I like living enough to prefer it and then dying to never living. I think I can give my kids enough of a head start that they'll be able to reach the same choice.