More acknowledgement for EY and/or SI in the final product
Guarding intellectual property
However, suing runs the risk of stopping the film being made/released, if the settlement is too large. If the film is made, and properly conveys the futility of trying to keep an AI boxed, then it has the potential to be good publicity for SI and (un)friendly AI research.
So, rather than sue, if SI were to take more of a supportive approach, encouraging the film, and (importantly) encouraging scientific accuracy, then they might be able to get a better result, beyond just a few dollars here or there (although the degree to which EY wants to control his IP could outweigh this; however, most of his work on his website is under a Creative Commons license, which suggests this might not be a problem).
Also, SI can probably get EY/SI to feature more prominently in the credits/on the website by taking a (small) advisory role in the film. (It could be part of their public outreach program...)
If the sole objective is to make the film and its contents widely known, it is possible that the optimal strategy is to sue with a great show of scandal, exploiting deliberately the Streisand effect. Of course, the bad publicity for SI would likely outweigh the benefits.
In the modern cynical world this means that you want to secretly hire someone to sue on the basis of insulting some not-really-existing religion, right? You get all the Streisand effect you want, and the blame goes to someone who doesn’t even exist in the first place.
Are you suggesting that he should sue?
I can think of three main reasons to sue:
Some money or royalties
More acknowledgement for EY and/or SI in the final product
Guarding intellectual property
However, suing runs the risk of stopping the film being made/released, if the settlement is too large. If the film is made, and properly conveys the futility of trying to keep an AI boxed, then it has the potential to be good publicity for SI and (un)friendly AI research.
So, rather than sue, if SI were to take more of a supportive approach, encouraging the film, and (importantly) encouraging scientific accuracy, then they might be able to get a better result, beyond just a few dollars here or there (although the degree to which EY wants to control his IP could outweigh this; however, most of his work on his website is under a Creative Commons license, which suggests this might not be a problem).
Also, SI can probably get EY/SI to feature more prominently in the credits/on the website by taking a (small) advisory role in the film. (It could be part of their public outreach program...)
If the sole objective is to make the film and its contents widely known, it is possible that the optimal strategy is to sue with a great show of scandal, exploiting deliberately the Streisand effect. Of course, the bad publicity for SI would likely outweigh the benefits.
In the modern cynical world this means that you want to secretly hire someone to sue on the basis of insulting some not-really-existing religion, right? You get all the Streisand effect you want, and the blame goes to someone who doesn’t even exist in the first place.
Mainly, I’m wondering about his exact tradeoff between (this kind of) publicity and money.