Utilitarianism and Consequentialism

There is some renewed debate about whether ‘Friendly AI’ can blackmail, also known as the Roko’s Basilisk problem. More information about it can be found here, here, here, and here. I’m kinda amazed by how much attention this has gotten, with stories even on Business Insider about the thought experiment. Roko’s Basilisk addresses an as-yet-nonexistent… Continue reading Utilitarianism and Consequentialism

Scott, Utilitarians, The Rational Middle, Scientism, and Liberals

But he has no enemies to the left, and no friends to the right, which means that all his friends are his enemies, and all his enemies are his friends. It would seem like there’s a mutual respect and camaraderie between Scott Alexander (and also Scott Adams), who represents the ‘rational middle’ or ‘rational left‘,… Continue reading Scott, Utilitarians, The Rational Middle, Scientism, and Liberals

Abortion & Healthcare Policy

From Evolutionist-X” In Defense of Planned Parenthood On numerous occasions, this blog has argued that Republicans could support abortion as a way of reducing entitlement spending and crime, which I discuss further here. The usual rebuttal is that this is the policy of Margaret Sanger and other liberals. Maybe fifty years ago, but nowadays if… Continue reading Abortion & Healthcare Policy