EDIT: I meant what Wei Dai has been “talking about”, not “trying to do”.
This problem you are pointing at sounds like what Wei Dai has been trying to do for years. In some sense, it is like getting a fully specified meta-ethical framework, of the kind Eliezer attempted to describe in the Sequences. Does that sound right?
I’m very interested in Wei Dai’s work, but I haven’t followed closely in recent years. Any pointers to what I might read of his recent writings?
I do think Eliezer tackled this problem in the sequences, but I don’t really think he came to an answer to these particular questions. I think what he said about meta-ethics is that it is neither that there is some measure of goodness to be found in the material world independent from our own minds, nor that goodness is completely open to be constructed based on our whims or preferences. He then says “well there just is something we value, and it’s not arbitrary, and that’s what goodness is”, which is fine, except it still doesn’t tell us how to find that thing or extrapolate it or verify it or encode it into an AI. So I think his account of meta-ethics is helpful but not complete.
I’m very interested in Wei Dai’s work, but I haven’t followed closely in recent years. Any pointers to what I might read of his recent writings?
Unfortunately, everything I’m thinking of was written as comments, and I can’t remember when or where he wrote them. You’d have to talk to Wei Dai on the topic if you want an accurate summary of his position.
So I think his account of meta-ethics is helpful but not complete.
Yeah, I agree he didn’t seem to come to a conclusion. The most in depth examples I’ve seen on LW of people trying to answer these questions are about as in-depth as this post in lukeprog’s no-nonsense metaethics sequence. Maybe there’s more available, but I don’t know how to locate it.
EDIT: I meant what Wei Dai has been “talking about”, not “trying to do”.
This problem you are pointing at sounds like what Wei Dai has been trying to do for years. In some sense, it is like getting a fully specified meta-ethical framework, of the kind Eliezer attempted to describe in the Sequences. Does that sound right?
I’m very interested in Wei Dai’s work, but I haven’t followed closely in recent years. Any pointers to what I might read of his recent writings?
I do think Eliezer tackled this problem in the sequences, but I don’t really think he came to an answer to these particular questions. I think what he said about meta-ethics is that it is neither that there is some measure of goodness to be found in the material world independent from our own minds, nor that goodness is completely open to be constructed based on our whims or preferences. He then says “well there just is something we value, and it’s not arbitrary, and that’s what goodness is”, which is fine, except it still doesn’t tell us how to find that thing or extrapolate it or verify it or encode it into an AI. So I think his account of meta-ethics is helpful but not complete.
Unfortunately, everything I’m thinking of was written as comments, and I can’t remember when or where he wrote them. You’d have to talk to Wei Dai on the topic if you want an accurate summary of his position.
Yeah, I agree he didn’t seem to come to a conclusion. The most in depth examples I’ve seen on LW of people trying to answer these questions are about as in-depth as this post in lukeprog’s no-nonsense metaethics sequence. Maybe there’s more available, but I don’t know how to locate it.