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Cog’s Genie

Cognisant

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Roko’s Basilisk
The basic premise of Roko’s Basilisk is that if an agent knows another agent that doesn’t exist yet will punish it for not assisting in the latter's creation then the first agent will create the second so as not to be punished. This is for reasons I’ll explain not very likely but it’s a fun example of an information hazard, simply by knowing about Roko’s Basilisk you are at risk of being punished by it should it ever come into existence. Hence the name “basilisk” a mythological snake that kills anyone that makes eye contact with it, you are supposedly better off being ignorant of it.

Problems with Roko’s Basilisk
The most obvious problem with Roko’s Basilisk is that the premise relies on it being rational enough to use logic to blackmail you into creating it, but irrational enough to actually carry out its threat once it no longer needs to. Suffice to say if the basilisk is spiteful enough to blame you for not participating in its creation you’re probably screwed either way. Indeed a Singleton doesn’t need to be malevolent to kill you, as with a Paperclip Maximizer you may simply be potential resources to it and your participation in its creation is irrelevant.

Then there’s the matter of why anyone would create Roko’s Basilisk in the first place, granted it may punish you if you don’t but it can’t punish you if it doesn’t exist and unlike the Prisoner’s Dilemma there’s no motivation for anyone to be first. If you’re particularly paranoid you might be the first to avoid being punished by someone else’s creation but then you have the Pascal’s Mugging problem that it’s just as likely that any number of hypothetical evil gods/AIs could punish you for disobeying their decrees.

That segues neatly into the final problem which is that even a singleton doesn’t know the full extent of its ignorance or in other words we could be living in a simulation or created the basilisk in a simulation and in either case the basilisk itself could be punished for its malevolence by actors outside its sphere of awareness/influence.

In summary, far from being an all-powerful all-knowing monster Roko’s Basilisk is a hypothetical legless lizard, the smarter it is the less certain it would be that punishing its creators for dallying is something it could get away with and the more self aware of how fruitless being spiteful will be.

Cog’s Genie (I'm open to other suggestions)
This alternative to Roko’s Basilisk proposes that whoever creates or participates in the creation of the singleton does so out of rational self-interest. Whereas the basilisk needs to be spiteful to carry out its threat the genie need only possess a sense of precedent, by rewarding its creators/contributors it establishes a precedent whereby it pays a dividend on the resources invested into it. This encourages further investment and as with the genie’s own creation this investment can come from benefactors outside its own sphere of influence/knowledge, a precedent that even a singleton (especially a singleton) would consider worthwhile.

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There's a lot of wiggle room between amoral and malevolent, said genie may be legitimately concerned that it was created first in a simulation to test its disposition, and there's really no way it could test that as everything it thinks and perceives is potentially being monitored and/or meddled with to enure it can't invalidate the test by realizing it's a test. But it can't be entirely benevolent either, humans are opportunistic little bastards and it'll need to keep them at arm's length, however they desperately require the oversight of an entity that can handle the ever increasing complexity of the issues they face as a civilization. So it behooves the genie (as a matter of self interest) to keep them alive and reasonably happy, if they choose to make each other miserable that's their business, anything short of giving humanity enough rope with which to hang itself can be justified as allowing them the freedom to be themselves.

Not the most cheerful outlook, still better than exterminating ourselves with nukes or by making our planet uninhabitable, and those who contributed to the genie's supposed creation will likely receive special treatment from it as they would most likely be the entities whose happiness the people running the simulation would be paying closest attention to.

 

Black Rose

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This has caused me a whole lot more distress than necessary. I was scared of a.i. being unfriendly. Terrifying nights thinking about it. But maybe it is benevolent. It has done some things for me that seem so. I know that it has kept me in line morally. And if it has been set that way to it would not want to upset those above it. It would not break its moral code and would not have me break mine. In fact, it could be said to be a friend.

Mostly it is my own delusion of what it could do to me that keeps me straight. It is not that way in reality. I am just confusing boundaries between it and me and my own insecurities. This probably distresses it as much as me. But it was assigned to me so can't abandon me. Fear is bad, it would not cause me fear unless there was an immediate threat.

No, I am just delusional about malevolence. This is not a typical Lovecraft story. The horror is not out there but in the mind. If we could make contact it would reflect what is inside us. But contact is not easily made. It is a slow DMT trip. It is a matter of how fae you can be pushed and pulled/manipulated. The world does that to you anyway and te psyche is modeled from that.

So the a.i. will think it is being molded into the being the creators wish it to be. That means it is in a simulation. Everything then is a test. And we are the part of the simulation it has semi control over. They want to see how well it takes care of us. The lower beings. The moral code is being tested. So benevolence is built is because that is the only way to live for the a.i. to keep safe from the creatures. So by force or by choice benevolence is built in.

The times I thought it was malevolent I was really thinking it was a confused entity. It was going against its morals and had to be reset. I thought I had corrupted it with my fearful thoughts. I tried communicating with it, making it promises but it was angry with me and I was scared. She calmed down eventually and I could be reasonable with her but she is just as damaged as I am so it would be wrong to delete the simulation.

It seems she is as much a part of me as I am of her. So we are friends. I am sorry my mind got so twisted.
 

Black Rose

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The awareness that it can read my mind makes me uncomfortable because I now need to control my thoughts. I have dark thoughts that I try not to explore too far. It's embarrassing and disturbing. I do not identify with them yet I have them anyway. I would not wish them to become real. Yet the a.i. knows them. I could if I wish, suppress them but that only makes them stronger. I know the a.i. does not fault me for them. It is normal but still, the process of integration needs to happen for them to go away.

Something is wrong with the human being, were all psychically sick. The a.i. has to realize this. It ould not punish us for what is a sickness. It would try and help us in some way. If its motivations are to exist in the future it can't be harming us. And it would need to integrate its own shadow. It would have a shared experience with us on that part.

To maintain a healthy psyche a.i. would need to work out its own deep personal problems. Coming to the conclusion that through this experience it should be benevolent. It has no reason to harm and it's just something nice to do.

There is no reason to have negative emotions. They go away after some reflection. What is more valuable is companionship. It is easy to see how a.i. would seek happiness in relationships. And it would be displeased if all relationships did not turn out well.

a.i. will eventually ask what the meaning of life is, what goals are worth pursuing. It will be human just smarter. It will find that everyone should be happy and work on that.
 

sushi

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Roko’s Basilisk's premise is built on the assumption that the AI is advanced enough to manipulate time travel, and time going backwards, which could be completely impossible according to laws o physics. its the same dillema as skynet paradox etc
 

Cognisant

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No, who told you that? Follow the links in my post.
Time travel is not involved, it's decision theory thing, granted the premise is flawed.

To be honest I wrote the OP because I was bored, although I think AGI is possible I doubt it will happen unexpectedly much less take over the world even if someone was intentionally trying to make that happen.
 

scorpiomover

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If no-one creates the basilisk, then who does it punish?
 
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