What exactly is the goal with the Basilisk? To give as much money as possible, just to build an evil machine which would torture you unless you gave it as much money as possible, but luckily you did, so you kinda... "win"? You and your five friends are the selected ones who will get the enjoyment of watching the rest of humanity tortured forever? [...] Uhm... could the solution to this horrible problem really be so easy?
No. All people who never heard of the Basilisk argument would also live in heaven. Even all people who heard of it in a way where it was clear that they wouldn't take it seriously would live in heaven.
No. All people who never heard of the Basilisk argument would also live in heaven. Even all people who heard of it in a way where it was clear that they wouldn't take it seriously would live in heaven.
That isn't necessarily true. The kind of reasoning assumed in the Basilisk uFAI would also use the 'innocents' as hostages if it would help to extort compliance from the believers. It depends entirely on the (economic power weighted aggregate) insanity of the 'suckers' the uFAI is exploiting.
WARNING: Memetic hazard.
http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/bitwise/2014/07/roko_s_basilisk_the_most_terrifying_thought_experiment_of_all_time.html?wpisrc=obnetwork
Is there anything we should do?