Discussion question for machine ethics researchers – if the free energy principle were right, would it disprove the orthogonality thesis?
No, and for two reasons.
1) The free energy principle is descriptive only, as Friston says in the Alius interview. It (apparently) makes no predictions about behaviour, much less about terminal goals.
2) It applies specifically to biological organisms. Most of Scott's sources note that this behaviour arose through natural selection, to handle certain specific types of uncertainty related to staying alive. It has no bearing whatsoever on, say, alien intelligences, much less computers, which can be programmed with any mind we can design.
This assumes that the free energy principle is true... (read more)
No, and for two reasons.
1) The free energy principle is descriptive only, as Friston says in the Alius interview. It (apparently) makes no predictions about behaviour, much less about terminal goals.
2) It applies specifically to biological organisms. Most of Scott's sources note that this behaviour arose through natural selection, to handle certain specific types of uncertainty related to staying alive. It has no bearing whatsoever on, say, alien intelligences, much less computers, which can be programmed with any mind we can design.
This assumes that the free energy principle is true... (read more)