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Wes_W comments on The Great Filter is early, or AI is hard - Less Wrong Discussion

19 Post author: Stuart_Armstrong 29 August 2014 04:17PM

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Comment author: Wes_W 29 August 2014 06:16:58PM 11 points [-]

You do seem to be using the term in a non-standard way. Here's the first use of the term from Hanson's original essay:

[...]there is a "Great Filter" along the path between simple dead stuff and explosive life.

The origin and evolution of life and intelligence are explicitly listed as possible filters; Hanson uses "Great Filter" to mean essentially "whatever the resolution to the Fermi Paradox is". In my experience, this also seems to be the common usage of the term.