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Reflec­tive stability

TagLast edit: 22 Oct 2026 21:15 UTC by Raemon

An agent is “reflectively stable” in some regard, if having a choice of how to construct a successor agent or modify its own code, the agent will only construct a successor that thinks similarly in that regard.

If, thinking the way you currently do (in some regard), it seems unacceptable to not think that way (in that regard), then you are reflectively stable (in that regard).

untangle possible confusion about reflective stability not being “good” and wanting reflectively unstable agents because it seems bad to them if a paperclip maximizer stays a paperclip maximizer, or they imagine causal decision theorists building something incrementally saner than casual decision theorists.

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