Rationality requires intelligence, and the kind of intelligence that we use (for communication, progress, FAI, etc.) runs on language.
It seems that the place we should start is optimizing language for intelligence and rationality. One of SIAI's proposals includes using Lojban to interface between humans and an FAI. And of course, I should hope the programming language used to build a FAI would be "rational". But it would seem to me that the human-generated priors, correct epistemic rationality, decision theory, metaethics, etc. all depend on using a language that sufficiently rigorously maps to our territory.
Are "naturally evolved" languages such as English sufficient, with EY-style taboos and neologisms? Or are they sick to the core?
Please forgive and point me towards previous discussion or sequences about this topic.
The flow thing was just an example. The point was simply to illustrate that we shouldn't reject out of hand the idea that an ordinary artificial language (as opposed to mathematical notation or something) could retain its regularity.
The point is simply that the evolution of the language directly depends on how it starts, which means that you could design in such a way that it drives its evolution in a useful way. Just because it would evolve doesn't mean that it would lose its regularity. The flow thing is just one example of many. If it flows well, that's simply one thing to not have to worry about.
Rationality requires intelligence, and the kind of intelligence that we use (for communication, progress, FAI, etc.) runs on language.
It seems that the place we should start is optimizing language for intelligence and rationality. One of SIAI's proposals includes using Lojban to interface between humans and an FAI. And of course, I should hope the programming language used to build a FAI would be "rational". But it would seem to me that the human-generated priors, correct epistemic rationality, decision theory, metaethics, etc. all depend on using a language that sufficiently rigorously maps to our territory.
Are "naturally evolved" languages such as English sufficient, with EY-style taboos and neologisms? Or are they sick to the core?
Please forgive and point me towards previous discussion or sequences about this topic.