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PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   33391 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of April 17, 2023

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at least the Yud-tyrants are merely human with human capabilities

And with the capacity to gain local monopolies over AI.

If there is the AI Voice and I have the AI Anti-Voice designed to protect me, then I am in dangerous waters, but at least I can swim. If I am banking on people selected on their desire for and ability to leverage power to not seek and leverage power over the AI Voice, then I am trusting the sharks to carry me to shore.

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The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

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A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

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