Cyan2 comments on Ends Don't Justify Means (Among Humans) - Less Wrong
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Comments (87)
So in my posts on this topic, I proceeded to (attempt to) convey a larger and more coherent context making sense of the ostensible issue.
Right! Now we're communicating. My point is that the context you want to add is tangential (or parallel...? pick your preferred geometric metaphor) to Eliezer's point. That doesn't mean it's without value, but it does mean that it fails to engage Eliezer's argument.
But it seems to me that I addressed this head-on at the beginning of my initial post, saying "Of course the ends justify the means -- to the extent that any moral agent can fully specify the ends.
Eliezer's point is that humans can't fully specify the ends due to "hostile hardware" issues if for no other reason. The hostile hardware part is key, but you never mention it or anything like it in your original comment. So, no, in my judgment you don't address it head-on. In contrast, consider Phil Goetz's first comment (the second of this thread), which attacks the hostile hardware question directly.