I don’t have much to add, but wanted to say that I really admire your work Audrey, and it’s delightful to see you posting here and responding so thoughtfully to the comments.
I think there’s a lot of potential for productive exploration of the space of improved coordination and governance. Ever since learning about polis from your 80k interview I’ve been gradually collecting open source governance innovations similar to it in spirit. Some experiments posted on the web disappear before I can properly document them. There was one in New York with a really interesting variation on Polis which connected some different info from the idea/opinion contributions, that I saw once and then could never find again.
I think plex is right that there are some challenges posed by superintelligence that make the future extra tricky to navigate, but that doesn’t mean the general direction isn’t valuable!
Yes! I did read the revised series with great interest, and I fondly recall my participation in the Foresight Institute 2021 seminar that contributed to the 2022 edition.
On the “speed-run subsidiarity” idea, I really resonate with your comment:
This is the first non-destructive non-coercive pivotal act that I’ve considered plausibly sufficient to save us from the current crisis.
In order to rapidly decentralize action without dissolving into chaos or resorting to localized coercion, we need a shared operational ethic for horizontal alignment to scale quickly. This, I believe, is where the concept of “civic care” becomes an essential catalyst.
Unlike abstract, “thin” ideologies, civic care is rooted in normative relational ethics. It emphasizes context, interdependence, and the direct responsibility we have for the relationships we are embedded within. This accelerates the speed-run in several ways:
Reduced Coordination Overhead: When civic care becomes the default ethical posture for AI training and deployment, we minimize the friction of cooperative agents by focusing on the immediate, tangible needs of the community.
Inherent Locality: The ethic of care naturally aligns with subsidiarity. We are best equipped to care for the relationships and environments closest to us. It intrinsically motivates action at the most appropriate level, strengthening local capacity.
Rapid Trust Building: Subsidiarity fails without high trust. By adopting a shared commitment to care, decentralized groups can establish trust much faster. This high-trust environment is a prerequisite for navigating crises effectively.
I don’t have much to add, but wanted to say that I really admire your work Audrey, and it’s delightful to see you posting here and responding so thoughtfully to the comments. I think there’s a lot of potential for productive exploration of the space of improved coordination and governance. Ever since learning about polis from your 80k interview I’ve been gradually collecting open source governance innovations similar to it in spirit. Some experiments posted on the web disappear before I can properly document them. There was one in New York with a really interesting variation on Polis which connected some different info from the idea/opinion contributions, that I saw once and then could never find again.
I think plex is right that there are some challenges posed by superintelligence that make the future extra tricky to navigate, but that doesn’t mean the general direction isn’t valuable!
There’s some relevant and interesting ideas in this post series by Allison: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/bHgp7CcqW4Drw8am4/preface-3
Yes! I did read the revised series with great interest, and I fondly recall my participation in the Foresight Institute 2021 seminar that contributed to the 2022 edition.
On the “speed-run subsidiarity” idea, I really resonate with your comment:
In order to rapidly decentralize action without dissolving into chaos or resorting to localized coercion, we need a shared operational ethic for horizontal alignment to scale quickly. This, I believe, is where the concept of “civic care” becomes an essential catalyst.
Unlike abstract, “thin” ideologies, civic care is rooted in normative relational ethics. It emphasizes context, interdependence, and the direct responsibility we have for the relationships we are embedded within. This accelerates the speed-run in several ways:
Reduced Coordination Overhead: When civic care becomes the default ethical posture for AI training and deployment, we minimize the friction of cooperative agents by focusing on the immediate, tangible needs of the community.
Inherent Locality: The ethic of care naturally aligns with subsidiarity. We are best equipped to care for the relationships and environments closest to us. It intrinsically motivates action at the most appropriate level, strengthening local capacity.
Rapid Trust Building: Subsidiarity fails without high trust. By adopting a shared commitment to care, decentralized groups can establish trust much faster. This high-trust environment is a prerequisite for navigating crises effectively.