Anderson talks about why we perpetuate things we all know to be wrong
The fisherman and filter thought experiment is an interesting thought on libertarianism. That
within the system, you cant stop the lake getting polluted as being within the system makes
you a player.
”If some rat scientists predict that depletion of the island’s nut stores is accelerating at a
dangerous rate and they will soon be exhausted completely, a few sects of rats might try to
limit their nut consumption to a sustainable level. Those rats will be outcompeted by their
more selfish cousins. Eventually the nuts will be exhausted, most of the rats will die off,
and the cycle will begin again. Any sect of rats advocating some action to stop the
cycle will be outcompeted by their cousins for
whom advocating anything is a waste of time that could be used to compete and consume."
"From a god’s-eye-view, it’s easy to say the rats should maintain a comfortably low
population. From within the system, each individual rat will follow its genetic imperative and
the island will end up in an endless boom-bust cycle."
"I’m not really sure how widely people appreciate the value of analogizing capitalism to
evolution. Fit companies – defined as those that make the customer want to buy from them –
survive, expand, and inspire future efforts, and unfit companies – defined as those no one
wants to buy from – go bankrupt and die out along with their company
DNA. The reasons Nature is
red and tooth and claw are the same reasons the market is ruthless and exploitative”
From within the system theres no way to enact the birds eye view of the system.
”A basic principle unites all of the multipolar traps above. In some competition optimizing
for X, the opportunity arises to throw some other value under the bus for improved X. Those
who take it prosper. Those who don’t take it die out.”
Quote “Just as you can look at an arid terrain and determine what shape a river will one
day take by assuming water will obey gravity, so you can look at a civilization and determine
what shape its institutions will one day take by assuming people will obey incentives."
"Technology increases the efficiency of manufacturing consent in the same way it increases the
efficiency of manufacturing everything else”
Technology could speed up these opportunities to throw values under the bus. That we live in a
weird time right now when we can have art, philosophy etc.
A trap as something optimising for X throwing values out the door are restrained by
“restrained by physical limitations, excess resources, utility maximization, and coordination”
I think what Alexander is saying is that technology may erode these limitations and the river
“reaches the sea”
Alexander then talks about Gnon (which I dont really understand) and the idea that no matter
what we are victims of the system. Kinda like Godel or something where when we think we are
exempt from it all the ‘outer gods’ appear (Moloch) and dictate.
So we need to kill Moloch. Maybe the AI can be the gardener, the overseer.