I'm more convinced by SSC/ACX's arguments about AI doom. I agree that Yudkowsky is weird, and I don't like his political trend in recent years either -- though I wouldn't consider ACX a reactionary just because he tolerates fascists leaving comments, but that's really not germane. Anyway, it sounds like you think Yudkowsky's perspective on AI doom is not entirely invalid, so that sounds like you also believe there is a chance that AI could be an x-risk?

[–] Mardoniush@hexbear.net 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I'm not talking about his open comments and I know the FAQ. I'm talking about a couple of letters that came up between him and alt right-neoreaction figures that displayed a lot more sympathy with their views than you might give credit for. I can't find them in a quick search but I'm pressed for time right now so will link later.

My p(doom) for Ai is maybe 5%, my p(dystopiasignificantlyworsethantoday) is substantially higher. We should definitely be looking into it and almost none of the people who should look into it exist in silicon valley.

[–] jsomae@lemmy.ml 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Sounds like we basically agree. I'd be interested to see what alt-right views Scott Alexander agrees with. I've perused r/sneerclub but they seem kinda kooky when it comes to SSC. Like, for instance, I know he is in favour of """eugenics""" but his version of that is totally different from the Nazi version to the point where I just roll my eyes when people make that comparison. It's hard for me to separate the actually valid criticism of him from the people who can't get past stuff like that.

(Edit: just to be 100% clear to people: it's not master race stuff, it's more like optimizing alleles in-vitro and at the most extreme end he might be in favour of persuading meth addicts not to have children unintentionally if they are at risk of certain serious drug-induced diseases (consensually). I'm on the fence about it. It's very Peter Singer.)

[–] Mardoniush@hexbear.net 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I think most people here would consider Singer to be if not openly right wing, at least worryingly adjacent. Rather too close to the beige technocratic Fascism of a Salazar.

[–] jsomae@lemmy.ml 1 points 3 weeks ago

Can you explain how Singer is right-wing? I never really thought about whether he was left or right wing before, since I'm not sure it's relevant to his most famous philosophical arguments. But I see in 1999 he wrote a book about how evolutionary psychology should be incorporated into left-leaning politics, indicating he at least self-identifies as left or did at the time.