As technology advances, I expect wars will get more devastating. So things that cause divisive conflict, e.g. trouble in the Middle East, will constitute stronger existential threats. I figure LW isn’t well positioned to tug ropes in the Middle East, but there might be opportunities to gain leverage over designer baby related stuff if no one is paying attention because it’s still decades out.
How about people who aren’t susceptible to superstimuli? That could lead to quite a cultural divide.
Interesting, want to elaborate? When I think of modern people who aren’t susceptible to superstimuli, I think of Buddhist monks. It doesn’t seem like they are causing too many problems.
As technology advances, I expect wars will get more devastating.
The -potential- for war to be more devastating will increase (the link does a good job justifying this position, and there are other reasons to believe this), but this is not the same as war actually getting more devastating.
I didn’t think it out in detail, but it seems to me that people bond over superstimuli, so people who are immune to superstimuli and people who are subject to superstimuli will have a harder time feeling connected to each other.
I think it’s more likely to be possible to create people who are immune to a list of superstimuli rather than people who are immune to all superstimuli.
If you are willing to equate superstimuli to strong emotions then “people who are immune to superstimuli” are common—we call them “depressed”, “anhedonic”, and “possessing a flat affect”.
As technology advances, I expect wars will get more devastating. So things that cause divisive conflict, e.g. trouble in the Middle East, will constitute stronger existential threats. I figure LW isn’t well positioned to tug ropes in the Middle East, but there might be opportunities to gain leverage over designer baby related stuff if no one is paying attention because it’s still decades out.
Interesting, want to elaborate? When I think of modern people who aren’t susceptible to superstimuli, I think of Buddhist monks. It doesn’t seem like they are causing too many problems.
The -potential- for war to be more devastating will increase (the link does a good job justifying this position, and there are other reasons to believe this), but this is not the same as war actually getting more devastating.
Sure.
I didn’t think it out in detail, but it seems to me that people bond over superstimuli, so people who are immune to superstimuli and people who are subject to superstimuli will have a harder time feeling connected to each other.
I think it’s more likely to be possible to create people who are immune to a list of superstimuli rather than people who are immune to all superstimuli.
People bond over strong shared emotions.
If you are willing to equate superstimuli to strong emotions then “people who are immune to superstimuli” are common—we call them “depressed”, “anhedonic”, and “possessing a flat affect”.