LukeOnline

Disclaimers * This is a response to, IMHO, a new pessimism that's rapidly ascending here; example one, example two, example three * This is a super complex subject, and this medium, my time and my energy are limited. This post is not perfect. * I studied to be a historian...

The terms in the title are commonly used in crucial debates surrounding morality & AI. Yet, I feel like there is no clear consensus about the meaning of those terms. The words are often used interchangeably, causing people to think they are all the same or very closely related. I...

Yudkowsky's Second Virtue of Rationality is "Relinquishment". You'd expect this to be about relinquishing mistaken beliefs. But most of the description of the virtue actually focuses on feelings. > Relinquish the emotion which rests upon a mistaken belief, and seek to feel fully that emotion which fits the facts. If...

The Malthusian Trap is a famous idea in regards to population pressure. Agricultural progress is linear, population growth is exponential. Inevitably, the population size exceeds the carrying capacity of its farmland. This results in starvation, disease and (civil) war, which reduces the population size. Afterwards, the population can grow again...

What is the core reason for our current dramatic increase in prosperity (seen as the Industrial Revolution, since 1750/1800)? The usage of new energy sources like coal and oil, to replace the physical labor of humans and animals with machines that dramatically boost our productive capacity. Could the same have...

The standard view of the fall of the Roman Empire is horrifying and deeply troubling. A long time ago, there was a prosperous empire. They created advanced technology and complex philosophy. After existing for many centuries, violent barbarians invaded, ending the prosperity and ushering in The Dark Ages. Knowledge and...

Since the start of the year, the West has been in the grip of an unprecedented public health crisis. Hundreds of thousands have died, daily life has changed severely and the economy has been dramatically disrupted. It's plausible to call this the West's biggest crisis since World War II. COVID-19...