Comment by Ed Corns (ed-corns) on Evaluating the historical value misspecification argument · 2023-10-14T08:31:15.985Z · LW · GW

So... let me see if got it right...

You've now personally verified all the rumors swirling around, by visiting a certain Balkan country, and... now what?

Sure, you've gained a piece of knowledge, but it's not like that knowledge has helped anybody so far. You also know what the future holds, but knowing that isn't going to help anybody either.

Being curious about curiosities is nice, but if you can't do anything about anything, then what's the point of satisfying that curiosity, really?

Just to be clear, I fully support what you're doing, but you should be aware of the fact that everything you are doing will amount to absolutely nothing. I should know, after all, as I've been doing something similar for quite a while longer than you. I've now accepted that... many of my initial assumption about people (that they're actually not as stupid as they seem) have been proven wrong, time and time again, so... as long as you're not deceiving yourself by thinking that you're actually accomplishing something, I'm perfectly fine with whatever you're trying to do here.

On a side note... did you meet that Hollywood actress in real life, too? For all I know, it could've been just an accidental meeting... which shouldn't be surprising, considering how many famous people have been coming over here recently... and literally none of those visits have changed anything. This is just to let you know that you're in a good company... of people who wield much more power (not just influence, but actual power) on this planet than you, but are just as equally powerless to do anything about anything on it.

So... don't beat yourself up over being powerless (to change anything) in this (AGI) matter.

It is what it is (people just are that stupid).

P.S.

No need to reply. This is just a one-off confirmation... of your greatest fears about "superintelligent" AGIs... and the fact that humanity is nothing more than a bunch of walking-dead (and brain-dead) morons.

Don't waste too much time on morons (it's OK if it benefits you, personally, in some way, though). It's simply not worth it. They just never listen. You can trust me on that one.