But ultimately, for the parts that really matter here, this is a matter of explaining, not of defeating
Of course, defeating people who are mistakenly doing the wrong thing could also work, no? Even if we take the assumption that people doing the wrong thing are merely making a mistake by their own lights to be doing so, it might be practically much more feasible to divert them away from doing it or otherwise prevent them from doing it, rather than to rely on successfully convincing them not to do it.
Not all people are going to be equally amenable to explanation. It’s not obvious to me at least that we should limit ourselves to that tool in the toolbox as a rule, even under an assumption where everyone chasing bad outcomes is simply mistaken/confused.
But I’m pretty sure nobody in charge is on purpose trying to kill everyone; they’re just on accident functionally trying to kill everyone.
I’m less sure about this. I’ve met plenty of human extinctionists. You could argue that they’re just making a mistake, that it’s just an accident. But I do think it is meaningful that there are people who are willing to profess that they want humanity to go extinct and take actions in the world that they think nudge us towards that direction, and other people that don’t do those things. The distinction is a meaningful one, even under a model where you claim that such people are fundamentally confused and that if they were somehow less confused they would pursue better things.
Of course, defeating people who are mistakenly doing the wrong thing could also work, no? Even if we take the assumption that people doing the wrong thing are merely making a mistake by their own lights to be doing so, it might be practically much more feasible to divert them away from doing it or otherwise prevent them from doing it, rather than to rely on successfully convincing them not to do it.
Not all people are going to be equally amenable to explanation. It’s not obvious to me at least that we should limit ourselves to that tool in the toolbox as a rule, even under an assumption where everyone chasing bad outcomes is simply mistaken/confused.
I’m less sure about this. I’ve met plenty of human extinctionists. You could argue that they’re just making a mistake, that it’s just an accident. But I do think it is meaningful that there are people who are willing to profess that they want humanity to go extinct and take actions in the world that they think nudge us towards that direction, and other people that don’t do those things. The distinction is a meaningful one, even under a model where you claim that such people are fundamentally confused and that if they were somehow less confused they would pursue better things.