intellectronica — LessWrong

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It's hard to define what is inherently evil. Your definition (IIUC) includes all lying. I don't think I can agree to that. Everyone lies all the time, and most of these acts or lying couldn't be classified as evil.

Ask First

intellectronica

This is somewhat abstract, but it's crucial to remember in the pursuit of knowledge. It's not about what we want to know, but rather about asking questions first and then determining what is truly interesting.

For most people, knowledge acquisition begins with being told what to learn, whether it's in school or college. This works for bootstrapping us with some basic facts, but most interesting and useful knowledge comes from exploring topics beyond a set curriculum.

Many people assume that the process of acquiring new knowledge follows these steps:

Determine what you want to know
Ask questions about the desired topic (searching the internet, reading books, consulting experts, etc.)
Receive answers, which leads to knowledge acquisition
Repeat the

... (read more)

"Slightly Evil" AI Apps

intellectronica

The term "Slightly Evil", coined by internet guru Venkatesh Rao, refers to actions and choices that are advantageous from a game-theoretical perspective, are not inherentlyevil (that is, not unambiguously evil in the relevant contexts), but are outside the norm as judged from a naive social perspective.

Many of the AI apps that will be emerging in the coming days, weeks, and months and prove unexpectedly successful are likely to fall into this category, at least once all opportunities for straightforward adaptation of legacy services to a chat format will be exhausted.

The Moralising Big Media (MBM - for example the sort of mass publication dailies hailing from New York, Washington, and Manchester) will approach... (read 529 more words →)

Playbook for the Great Divergence

intellectronica

As we progress through the advanced stages of a period that can be called "the great divergence", the divide between those who can effectively utilise AI tools and those who cannot is widening. In the final stage (sometimes referred to as "the singularity" by the techno-religious), AI will ultimately diverge from biological intelligence.

To remain competitive during this transformative era, it would be useful to follow a playbook detailing various levels of human-AI interaction skills. Each level gains relevance after the preceding one and eventually becomes obsolete as AI technology continues to evolve.

Level 1: Acquaintance with AI Tools

With AI development advancing rapidly, it is essential to stay informed about the latest tools and... (read 652 more words →)

Replying toThe Ultimate Step-by-Step Hiring Playbook

intellectronica3y

The Ultimate Step-by-Step Hiring Playbook

Thanks a lot for the helpful feedback!

I completely agree that the risk is trying to invent magical information about the future by inferring from what we know in the present. The reason I find this format helpful (and hoped the reader will too) is that to me it highlights the absurdity of trying to make a prediction based on the limited, currently available information, and as a result I'm more likely to take a rational approach - starting with the base rate (rather than biasing on current information that is unlikely to be all that relevant for the future), making very small corrections based on the information I have (instead of the... (read more)

The Ultimate Step-by-Step Hiring Playbook

intellectronica

Mullah Nasrudin Hodja was crawling on his hands and knees under the streetlight when he was spotted by a passer-by. “What are you doing, Mullah? Why are you crawling?” asked the man. The mullah answered “I am searching for my key. I have lost it and need it to get back into my home.” The man offers Nasrudin his help, and soon they are both crawling on their hands and knees, under the streetlight. The key, alas, is nowhere to be found. “Are you sure you lost the key here, mullah?”, asks the man. “Oh no, not here,” says Nasrudin, “I must have dropped the key in the park.” Bewildered, the man... (read 1035 more words →)

Replying toAre there good negotiation classes?

intellectronicaFeb 24, 2021

Are there good negotiation classes?

Consider the option that "negotiation" as a topic is a corporate fad. You hear a lot about it from the kind of people who try desperately to chase some kind of corporate game, but in practice, negotiation skills are not really that important in a work environment for the simple reason that these environments are by nature very cooperative. As long as you can get to clarity with people on what needs to be done, not much negotiation needs to happen. It's quite easy to spot the graduates of negotiation classes at work - they are the ones who waste everyone's time by practicing their negotiation jiu-jitsu moves when everyone else is just trying to agree on a project plan and get working. Maybe it's a virtue to not be one of these people.