Thank you for your terrific contribution to the symposium!

Yes, there are big epistemic hazards here! For example, one might think of assassinating some horrible political leader. But it is not at all clear whether that would have good effects or bad. Some standard of ethical risk aversion might even apply.

Giving One's Life [link to post in thread] Would it be wrong to think of a fatal diagnosis as an opportunity?

arguments against their consciousness. Especially appealing will be arguments that characterize consciousness specifically as a biological phenomenon, one that can't occur in ordinary, non-biological computer systems. In this post, I describe the structure of such arguments and their 2/3

The Appeal of (Semi-?) Biological Naturalism [link in thread] Biological naturalism about consciousness will, I predict, soon be hot. As AI systems start to look more and more like conscious or sentient entities, at least superficially, doubters will be increasingly drawn to 1/3

Should We Build AI Guardian Angels? [link to post in thread] Answer: no (in response to @henryshevlin.bsky.social), in part because each generation should nurture the next, not the other way around.

understand without living by it: A meat-eating professor who recommends vegetarianism will generally have only a thin grasp of the way of life they recommend. These limitations give us reason to discount the understanding of ethicists who don’t attempt to live by their principles, 4/5

For broad principles that can be lived by, everyday choices are generally the best source of such examples. Paragraph-length thought experiments are impoverished in comparison. Second, even a principle with fairly specific practical content, such as “don’t eat meat”, is difficult to fully 3/5

have a deficient understanding of what they recommend, for two reasons. First, abstract mottos like “act on the maxim you can will to be a universal law”, “maximize good consequences”, or “be generous” lack specific practical content without an array of concrete examples to flesh them out. 2/4

New paper in draft! I've been working on this one since 2018, never satisfied, redrafting over and over. I'm sure it still needs considerable work, but I'm finally ready to circulate it. Walking the Walk Ethicists who advocate moral principles without trying to live by them will generally 1/4