Just to make sure I understand your idea right: the friendly telepath problem is something like “How do I create a workable interface with someone who might be able to collaborate with me, given that I’m kind of transparent to that person’s ‘telepathy’?” Is that basically right?
And then you’re suggesting a bunch of quirks about how to solve it, like how maintaining opaque parts of your psyche is actually helpful for solving this problem. Yes?
Kinda. Collaborating with friendly telepaths is not a problem normally. It is not something you have to fight for or against. The friendly telepath is not your problem. But the normallx workable interface can still go wrong! There are problems you may encounter—but it is more special quirks to avoid or at least be aware of. That’s why the title is The friendly telepath problems.
But overall yes, I say that the fact that our minds are at least partly opaque (at least in the refined sense in the reply to your other comment) is actually helpful for collaboration and commitment.
I’m sorry I’m being kind of thick here. Can you spell out plainly to me what exactly the problem your title is referring to is? “The friendly telepath problem” implies there’s some kind of problem that somehow involves friendly telepaths. You say I “kinda” described it correctly by saying it’s about how to create workable interfaces with friendly telepaths. Then you go on to say… um… I think to say that “the normally workable interface can still go wrong” as being the problem. Which I think is what I was saying? But you seem to say it as a correction to what I was trying to name.
So… what precisely is the friendly telepath problem?
Just to make sure I understand your idea right: the friendly telepath problem is something like “How do I create a workable interface with someone who might be able to collaborate with me, given that I’m kind of transparent to that person’s ‘telepathy’?” Is that basically right?
And then you’re suggesting a bunch of quirks about how to solve it, like how maintaining opaque parts of your psyche is actually helpful for solving this problem. Yes?
Kinda. Collaborating with friendly telepaths is not a problem normally. It is not something you have to fight for or against. The friendly telepath is not your problem. But the normallx workable interface can still go wrong! There are problems you may encounter—but it is more special quirks to avoid or at least be aware of. That’s why the title is The friendly telepath problems.
But overall yes, I say that the fact that our minds are at least partly opaque (at least in the refined sense in the reply to your other comment) is actually helpful for collaboration and commitment.
I’m sorry I’m being kind of thick here. Can you spell out plainly to me what exactly the problem your title is referring to is? “The friendly telepath problem” implies there’s some kind of problem that somehow involves friendly telepaths. You say I “kinda” described it correctly by saying it’s about how to create workable interfaces with friendly telepaths. Then you go on to say… um… I think to say that “the normally workable interface can still go wrong” as being the problem. Which I think is what I was saying? But you seem to say it as a correction to what I was trying to name.
So… what precisely is the friendly telepath problem?
I really shouldn’t have tried to mimic your title.
The post is about the problems you can have even with a friendly telepath. And the problems are (using your barrier phrasing):
Performative transparency—the barrier is doing PR for you, not helping you coordination
Rigidity dressed up as authenticity—the barrier becomes unmovable
The internal hostile telepath—the barrier served protection from a hostile telepath, but the hostile telepath is gone, and the barrier never updated
Dependency on mirrors—the barrier allows you to use other friendly telepaths as an oracle for yourself