This weekly roundup thread is intended for all culture war posts. 'Culture war' is vaguely defined, but it basically means controversial issues that fall along set tribal lines. Arguments over culture war issues generate a lot of heat and little light, and few deeply entrenched people ever change their minds. This thread is for voicing opinions and analyzing the state of the discussion while trying to optimize for light over heat.
Optimistically, we think that engaging with people you disagree with is worth your time, and so is being nice! Pessimistically, there are many dynamics that can lead discussions on Culture War topics to become unproductive. There's a human tendency to divide along tribal lines, praising your ingroup and vilifying your outgroup - and if you think you find it easy to criticize your ingroup, then it may be that your outgroup is not who you think it is. Extremists with opposing positions can feed off each other, highlighting each other's worst points to justify their own angry rhetoric, which becomes in turn a new example of bad behavior for the other side to highlight.
We would like to avoid these negative dynamics. Accordingly, we ask that you do not use this thread for waging the Culture War. Examples of waging the Culture War:
-
Shaming.
-
Attempting to 'build consensus' or enforce ideological conformity.
-
Making sweeping generalizations to vilify a group you dislike.
-
Recruiting for a cause.
-
Posting links that could be summarized as 'Boo outgroup!' Basically, if your content is 'Can you believe what Those People did this week?' then you should either refrain from posting, or do some very patient work to contextualize and/or steel-man the relevant viewpoint.
In general, you should argue to understand, not to win. This thread is not territory to be claimed by one group or another; indeed, the aim is to have many different viewpoints represented here. Thus, we also ask that you follow some guidelines:
-
Speak plainly. Avoid sarcasm and mockery. When disagreeing with someone, state your objections explicitly.
-
Be as precise and charitable as you can. Don't paraphrase unflatteringly.
-
Don't imply that someone said something they did not say, even if you think it follows from what they said.
-
Write like everyone is reading and you want them to be included in the discussion.
On an ad hoc basis, the mods will try to compile a list of the best posts/comments from the previous week, posted in Quality Contribution threads and archived at /r/TheThread. You may nominate a comment for this list by clicking on 'report' at the bottom of the post and typing 'Actually a quality contribution' as the report reason.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
I think this scenario is a lower tech version of the paperclip maximizer: the AI haves simply don't value the well being of the have nots, and take up all the resources, desirable land, etc with their superior technology. In the extreme case think something like: these N acres could produce wheat for 100000 people, or they can be used to pasture grass-fed, free-range, spa lifestyle cows to produce one weekly meal of 10 aristocrats.
This seems very very unlikely, but not impossible, looking forward 30 years feels like a crapshoot right now!
This is the part where they're operating in your country, and so you can do stuff like taxing them. Unless it's also like the paperclip maximizer in that we assume that any attempt whatsoever to do things like that results in them just casually killing you. My point is that then you have a different problem. You have a, "AI-haves killing people problem," not a, "AI-have-nots just starve because they're unable to produce/consume sustenance-level calories (or stuff worth sustenance-level calories).
Similar if it's, like, China who gets AGI/ASI and they start conquering and to conquer in order to take up all the resources, desirable land, etc. You don't have a "AI-have-nots just starve" problem. You have an AI warfare-and-killing-people problem.
More options
Context Copy link
That's basically the gist. The rich own all the resources just like they do now, but as the AI becomes more and more capable, the rest of people can't even offer their labor in return for resources because they can't compete.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link