[Link] How the Simulation Argument Dampens Future Fanaticism

David Althaus

Very comprehensive analysis by Brian Tomasik on whether (and to what extent) the simulation argument should change our altruistic priorities. He concludes that the possibility of ancestor simulations somewhat increases the comparative importance of short-term helping relative to focusing on shaping the "far future".

Another important takeaway:

[...] rather than answering the question “Do I live in a simulation or not?,” a perhaps better way to think about it (in line with Stuart Armstrong's anthropic decision theory) is “Given that I’m deciding for all subjectively indistinguishable copies of myself, what fraction of my copies lives in a simulation and how many total copies are there?"

Unless of course We created the simulation.

No, not unless. Someone is running the simulation, someone has control. These someones are Gods regardless of their origin.

You don't mean that a civilization put a dream-maker on full autopilot and then jumped in, do you?

Nothing said or began to imply that every member of the outside society entered the simulation.

If you enter a simulation, it is reasonable to suspect that you had some degree of say over what kind of simulation it is. Far from certain, of course.

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[Link] How the Simulation Argument Dampens Future Fanaticism

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[Link] How the Simulation Argument Dampens Future Fanaticism

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