Then it appears I have misunderstood your arguments — whether that’s just a failing on my part, or suggests they could be better phrased/explained, I can’t tell you.
One other reaction of mine to your post: you repeatedly mention ‘protocols’ for the communication between principal and agent. This, to my ear, sounds a lot like cryptographic protocols, and I immediately want details and to do a mathematical analysis of what I believe about their security properties — but this post doesn’t actually provide any details of any protocols, that I could find. I think that’s a major part of what I’m getting a sense that the argument contains elements of “now magic happens”.
Perhaps some simple, concrete examples would help here? Even a toy example. Or maybe the word protocol is somehow giving me the wrong expectations?
I seem to be bouncing off this proposal document — I’m wondering if there are unexplained assumptions, background, or parts of the argument that I’m missing?
Right—I wouldn’t describe it as magic, but the vast majority of the math still needs to be done, which includes protocol design. I did give explicit toy examples A) and B).
Clearly I didn’t read your post sufficiently carefully. Fair point: yes, you did address that, and I simply missed it somehow. Yes, you did mean cryptographic protocols, specifically ones of the Merlin-Arthur form.
I suspect that your the exposition could be made clearer, or better motivate readers who are skimming LW posts to engage with it — but that’s a writing suggestion, not a critique of the ideas.
Then it appears I have misunderstood your arguments — whether that’s just a failing on my part, or suggests they could be better phrased/explained, I can’t tell you.
One other reaction of mine to your post: you repeatedly mention ‘protocols’ for the communication between principal and agent. This, to my ear, sounds a lot like cryptographic protocols, and I immediately want details and to do a mathematical analysis of what I believe about their security properties — but this post doesn’t actually provide any details of any protocols, that I could find. I think that’s a major part of what I’m getting a sense that the argument contains elements of “now magic happens”.
Perhaps some simple, concrete examples would help here? Even a toy example. Or maybe the word protocol is somehow giving me the wrong expectations?
I seem to be bouncing off this proposal document — I’m wondering if there are unexplained assumptions, background, or parts of the argument that I’m missing?
Right—I wouldn’t describe it as magic, but the vast majority of the math still needs to be done, which includes protocol design. I did give explicit toy examples A) and B).
Clearly I didn’t read your post sufficiently carefully. Fair point: yes, you did address that, and I simply missed it somehow. Yes, you did mean cryptographic protocols, specifically ones of the Merlin-Arthur form.
I suspect that your the exposition could be made clearer, or better motivate readers who are skimming LW posts to engage with it — but that’s a writing suggestion, not a critique of the ideas.