Roger Williams (Author of Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect) on Singularity

post by Dr_Manhattan · 2012-01-06T05:09:36.511Z · LW · GW · Legacy · 7 comments

This is Roger's article on Singularity issues, connecting his MOPI novel to how things might/should happen.

http://localroger.com/prime-intellect/mopising.html

(Roger is clearly aware of SIAI ideas and has referenced Eliezer in some of his posts)

 

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comment by billswift · 2012-01-06T08:07:16.316Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Roger Williams (Author of Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect) on Singularity

Why not just title it, Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect by Roger Williams, since all it is is a link to the story?

I expected a link to an article or essay, even an interview, from your title.

Replies from: Slackson
comment by Slackson · 2012-01-06T09:51:01.108Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

This is the novel. Dr_Manhattan linked to an essay by Roger Williams, which discusses where his novel intersects with the sort of things organizations like SIAI are looking at.

Replies from: James_Blair, billswift
comment by James_Blair · 2012-01-06T13:20:15.928Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

I think this essay drifts considerably further away from SIAI/LW thinking than his story does, though I might have forgotten things.

Actually, given a moment to reflect, I'm more confusing the essay's points and my own impressions of the story. If he thought like this while writing the novel, then he spectacularly failed to reach me. For that I'm glad.

Replies from: Dr_Manhattan
comment by Dr_Manhattan · 2012-01-06T14:48:32.379Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

If he thought like this while writing the novel, then he spectacularly failed to reach me. For that I'm glad.

I think you're speaking too abstractly to agree or disagree with your value judgement.

Replies from: James_Blair
comment by James_Blair · 2012-01-06T15:31:53.838Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
  • Ungrowth wasn't talked about in the novels. I remember the opposite complaint: that the overly strict implementation of the Three Laws turned humanity into kittens, with the wireheads at the extreme. Ungrowth sounds almost as bad as Peer's arbitrary obsessions in Permutation City.
  • Holding all other implementation details equal, Lawrence's insistence that PI not look into people's brains results in a much better world than not. I get the impression that Roger thinks his genie could have handled people better if it analyzed them that deeply.
  • The critique of the Three Laws as portrayed should have focused not on how limited it is, but on how restrictive it is. A premise Roger disagrees with when saying that Lawrence did not install a more robust ethical system when his design allowed for it. The star map above Lawrence's house gave us a glimpse of the design that made it clear how he messed up his design not just in creating a thoughtless genie, but in not allowing corrections as the everything the AI believed was not only interdependent but centered on those three pillars.

Edit: There were more words here, but your later emphasis confuses me. I'm going to pretend you didn't do that. If I'm not being clear here, please help me help me help you.

comment by billswift · 2012-01-06T14:39:49.190Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

I saw the header of the page and didn't look any farther:

The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect

A Novel by Roger Williams

Replies from: Dr_Manhattan
comment by Dr_Manhattan · 2012-01-06T14:46:58.084Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

I added a bit of clarification