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RomeoStevens comments on "Stupid" questions thread - Less Wrong Discussion

40 Post author: gothgirl420666 13 July 2013 02:42AM

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Comment author: RomeoStevens 13 July 2013 09:50:59AM 2 points [-]

achieves its value when presented with a wide array of environments.

Comment author: Locaha 13 July 2013 10:00:15AM 0 points [-]

This is again different words for "can be good at everything". :-)

Comment author: RomeoStevens 13 July 2013 10:19:33AM 6 points [-]

When you ask someone to unpack a concept for you it is counter-productive to repack as you go. Fully unpacking the concept of "good" is basically the ultimate goal of MIRI.

Comment author: Locaha 13 July 2013 10:23:21AM 2 points [-]

I just showed that your redefinition does not actually unpack anything.

Comment author: RomeoStevens 13 July 2013 10:41:26AM *  8 points [-]

I feel that perhaps you are operating on a different definition of unpack than I am. For me, "can be good at everything" is less evocative than "achieves its value when presented with a wide array of environments" in that the latter immediately suggests quantification whereas the former uses qualitative language, which was the point of the original question as far as I could see. To be specific: Imagine a set of many different non-trivial agents all of whom are paper clip maximizers. You created copies of each and place them in a variety of non-trivial simulated environments. The ones that average more paperclips across all environments could be said to be more intelligent.

Comment author: Lightwave 15 July 2013 09:54:06AM 0 points [-]

You can use the "can be good at everything" definition to suggest quantification as well. For example, you could take these same agents and make them produce other things, not just paperclips, like microchips, or spaceships, or whatever, and then the agents that are better at making those are the more intelligent ones. So it's just using more technical terms to mean the same thing.