I cannot account for every possible interpretation in what I write in a comment. It is reasonable not to infer oughts from questions. I said:
This is a community devoted to refining the art of rationality. How is it rational to believe the Scary Idea without being able to tell if it is more than an idea?
That is, if you can’t explain yourself why you hold certain extreme beliefs then how is it rational for me to believe that the credence you place on it is justified? The best response you came up with was telling me that you are able to understand and that you don’t have to force this understanding onto me to believe into it yourself. That is a very poor argument and that is what I called ridiculous. Even more so as people voted it up, which is just sad.
I though this has been sufficiently clear from what I wrote before.
That is a very poor argument and that is what I called ridiculous. Even more so as people voted it up, which is just sad.
And it is at this point in the process that an accomplished rationalist says to himself, “I am confused”, and begins to learn.
My impression is that you and Wedrifid are talking past each other. You think that you both are arguing about whether uFAI is a serious existential risk. Wedrifid isn’t even concerned with that. He is concerned with “process questions”—with the analysis of the dialog that you two are conducting, rather than the issue of uFAI risk. And the reason he is being upvoted is because this forum, believe it or not, is a process question forum. It is about rationality, not about AI. Many people here really aren’t that concerned about whether Goertzel or Yudkowsky has a better understanding of uFAI risks. They just have a visceral dislike of rhetorical questions.
If you want to see the standard arguments in favor of the Scary Idea, follow Louie’s advice and read the papers at the SIAI web site. But if you find those arguments unsatisfactory (and I suspect you will) exercise some care if you come looking for a debate on the question here on Less Wrong. Because not everyone who engages with you here will be engaging you on the issue that you want to talk about.
Many people here really aren’t that concerned about whether Goertzel or Yudkowsky has a better understanding of uFAI risks.
I am somewhat more interested in understanding why Gortzel would say what he says about AI. Just saying ‘Gortzel’s brain doesn’t appear to work right’ isn’t interesting. But the Hansonian signalling motivations behind academic posturing is more so.
(Although to be more precise I don’t have a visceral dislike of rhetorical questions per se. It is the use of rhetoric to subvert reason that produces the visceral reaction, not the rhetoric(al question) itself.)
I cannot account for every possible interpretation in what I write in a comment. It is reasonable not to infer oughts from questions. I said:
That is, if you can’t explain yourself why you hold certain extreme beliefs then how is it rational for me to believe that the credence you place on it is justified? The best response you came up with was telling me that you are able to understand and that you don’t have to force this understanding onto me to believe into it yourself. That is a very poor argument and that is what I called ridiculous. Even more so as people voted it up, which is just sad.
I though this has been sufficiently clear from what I wrote before.
And it is at this point in the process that an accomplished rationalist says to himself, “I am confused”, and begins to learn.
My impression is that you and Wedrifid are talking past each other. You think that you both are arguing about whether uFAI is a serious existential risk. Wedrifid isn’t even concerned with that. He is concerned with “process questions”—with the analysis of the dialog that you two are conducting, rather than the issue of uFAI risk. And the reason he is being upvoted is because this forum, believe it or not, is a process question forum. It is about rationality, not about AI. Many people here really aren’t that concerned about whether Goertzel or Yudkowsky has a better understanding of uFAI risks. They just have a visceral dislike of rhetorical questions.
If you want to see the standard arguments in favor of the Scary Idea, follow Louie’s advice and read the papers at the SIAI web site. But if you find those arguments unsatisfactory (and I suspect you will) exercise some care if you come looking for a debate on the question here on Less Wrong. Because not everyone who engages with you here will be engaging you on the issue that you want to talk about.
I am somewhat more interested in understanding why Gortzel would say what he says about AI. Just saying ‘Gortzel’s brain doesn’t appear to work right’ isn’t interesting. But the Hansonian signalling motivations behind academic posturing is more so.
Well said.
(Although to be more precise I don’t have a visceral dislike of rhetorical questions per se. It is the use of rhetoric to subvert reason that produces the visceral reaction, not the rhetoric(al question) itself.)