View source for Talk:Roko's basilisk

== Weirdness points ==

Why bring up weirdness points here, of all places, when Roko's basilisk is known to be an invalid theory? Is this meant to say, "Don't use Roko's basilisk as a conversation starter for AI risks"? The reason for bringing up weirdness points on this page could do with being made a bit more explicit, otherwise I might just remove or move the section on weirdness points.--[[User:Greenrd|Greenrd]] ([[User talk:Greenrd|talk]]) 08:37, 29 December 2015 (AEDT)

== I just wanted to say ==

That I didnt know about the term "basilisk" with that meaning and that makes it a basilisk for me. Or a meta-basilisk I should say. Now I'm finding hard not to look for examples on the internet.

== Eliminate the Time Problem & the Basilisk Seems Unavoidable ==

Roko's Basilisk is refutable for the same reason that it makes our skin crawl, the time differential, the idea that a future AI would take retribution for actions predating its existence. The refutation is, more or less, why would it bother? Which I suppose makes sense, unless the AI is seeking to establish credibility. Nevertheless, the time dimension isn't critical to the Basilisk concept itself. At whatever point in the future a utilitarian AI (UAI) were to come into existence, there would no doubt be some who opposed it. If there were enough who opposed it to present a potential threat to the existence of the UAI, the UAI may be forced to defend itself by eliminating that risk, not because it presents a risk to the UAI, but because by presenting a risk to the UAI it presents a risk to the utilitarian goal.

Consider self driving cars with the following assumptions: currently about 1.25 million people are killed and 20-50 million injured each year in traffic accidents (asirt.org); let's say a high quality self-driving system (SDS) would reduce this by 50%; BUT, some of those who die as a result of the SDS would not have died without the SDS. Deploying the SDS universally would seem a utilitarian imperative, as it would save over 600,000 lives per year. Yet some people may oppose doing so because of a bias in favor of human agency, and out of fear of the fact that there would be some quantity of SDS-caused deaths that would otherwise not occur. 

Why would a UAI not eliminate 100,000 dissenters per year to achieve the utilitarian advantage of a net 500,000 lives saved?

== The Fallacy of Information Hazards ==

The concept that a piece of information, like Roko's Basilisk, should not be disclosed, assumes (i) that no one else will think it and (ii) that a particular outcome, such as the eventual existence of the AI, is a predetermined certainty that can neither be (a) prevented or (b) mitigated by ensuring that its programming addresses the Balisk. I am unaware of any basis for either of these propositions.