Dennis Hackethal’s Blog

My blog about philosophy, coding, and anything else that interests me.

Tweets

An archive of my tweets and retweets through . They may be formatted slightly differently than on Twitter. API access has since gotten prohibitively expensive – I don't know whether or when I'll be able to update this archive.

But in case I will, you can subscribe via RSS – without a Twitter account. Rationale

“[...] the ability to imitate a human imperfectly or in specialized functions is not a form of universality. It can exist in degrees. Hence, even if chatbots did at some point start becoming much better at imitating humans [...], that would still not be a path to AI."

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

GPT-3 has proven to be a jump to a much better chatbot than any previous chatbots. So, is it a step toward AGI? No. The explanation is in "The Beginning of Infinity," chapter 7:

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@PessimistsArc

“Those little smileys were a symptom of the social angst spawned by the introduction of e-mail” 😂

:-) :-) :-)

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@heartbreak_sith

"Doesn't say sh!t" about owning guns? It says right there, in the image you posted, "[...] the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@DanielJHannan @toadmeister

Even such evidence wouldn’t cut it. What would be needed is a good explanation of why coercion is morally superior to freedom in this case, and why what coercion “achieves” can’t be done through freedom.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

Much of what Rand wrote about—the hatred against white people (and now also straight and male ones especially), the moral inversion of the fight for racial equality, etc—could all be written today. The recent rise of SJWs has caused a big moral regression.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

She then quotes from the NYT again:

“If the individual has all the rights and privileges due him under the laws and the Constitution, we need not worry about groups and masses—those do not, in fact, exist, except as figures of speech.”

Indeed.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

Later on, in the same vein:

“It is an ironic demonstration of the philosophical insanity and the [...] suicidal trend of our age, that the men who need the protection of individual rights most urgently—the Negroes—are now in the vanguard of the destruction of these rights.”

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

“That absurdly evil policy is destroying the moral base of the Negroes’ fight. Their case rested on the principle of individual rights. If they demand the violation of the rights of others, they negate and forfeit their own.”

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

She points out the blatant irony:

“But that is the principle of the worst Southern racist who charges all Negroes with collective racial guilt for any crime committed by a [single] Negro, and who treats them all as inferiors on the ground that their ancestors were savages.”

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

“Since these questions are not to be considered, it means that that white laborer is to be charged with collective racial guilt, the guilt consisting merely of the color of his skin.”

I’ve been thinking this for a long time. It’s nice to read her putting it so well.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

“It demands that a white laborer be refused a job because his grandfather may have practiced racial discrimination. But perhaps his grandfather had not practiced it. Or perhaps his grandfather had not even lived in this country.”

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

“Consider the implications of that statement. It does not merely demand special privileges on racial grounds—it demands that white men be penalized for the sins of their ancestors.”

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

According to Rand, some black leaders at the time went even further by claiming that if a white man and a black man are equally qualified for a position, the black man should be hired. She comments:

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

“This particular demand was too much even for the “liberals.” Many of them denounced it—properly—with shocked indignation.”

Alas, that part is different today. She quotes the NYT (!) as saying that quota systems are themselves discriminatory. No shocked indignation there today.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

“They are demanding that racial quotas be established in regard to employment [...] Today [1963], it is not an oppressor, but an oppressed minority group that is demanding the establishment of racial quotas. (!)”

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

It’s very interesting to learn that the SJW meme of colorblindness being evil is not new, but was already around in the sixties. I suspect it originated through meme proxies and then stuck around largely dormant until recently.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

“Instead of fighting for “color-blindness” in social and economic issues, they are proclaiming that “color-blindness” is evil and that “color” should be made a primary consideration. Instead of fighting for equal rights, they are demanding special race privileges.”

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

She continues further down: “[Negro leaders, instead] of fighting against racial discrimination, they are demanding that racial discrimination be legalized and enforced. Instead of fighting against racism, they are demanding the establishment of racial quotas.”

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

“America has become race-conscious in a manner reminiscent of the worst days in the most backward countries of nineteenth-century Europe. The cause is the same: the growth of collectivism and statism.”

Rand wrote this in VoS in 1963. Thanks to SJWs it could be said of today.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

Claiming "before money, there was no poverty" is like claiming "before doctors, there was no cancer."

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

So many have it the wrong way. It is okay to use (appropriate) force on violent people. It is not okay to use any force on peaceful people. But the latter happens in this video.

Antifa, China, large parts of the left, etc oppose both notions and want to invert them. Disgusting. twitter.com/liberty_deity/…

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@normonics

Yeah he sounded like tail tucked between legs. Very unlike him.

I’m guessing it was the mob, not Spotify.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@MaryLizThomson @AlexEpstein @robert_zubrin

What could I say to change your mind?

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@MaryLizThomson @AlexEpstein @robert_zubrin

Only more evidence of our extraordinary ability to cope with it then, isn’t it?

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

Good. Please take this all the way to the supreme court if you have to, and get a ruling as beautiful as the recent one for Pennsylvania. twitter.com/KevinKileyCA/s…

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@katgleason

For clarity, people would be mistaken to conclude that this was caused by Covid, without a good explanation of how and why that happened.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@michaelerich5

Warum dürfen Schüler nicht zuhause bleiben, wenn sie nicht in die Schule gehen wollen? (Mit oder ohne Corona)

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

RT @iamdevloper:
the "must be willing to relocate to SF" stipulation just got a whole lot more laughable during COVID than it already was

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@frictionalgames

Holy shit that looks good!

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@kayleighmcenany @pnjaban @JoeBiden

Will the PA government be held accountable and reimburse businesses for the damages and lost revenues?

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@opti__mystic

I address Bostrom's arguments regarding "superintelligence" and the related ideas behind the "control problem" & "value-alignment problem," "common-good principle," etc, in chapter 8 of my book "A Window on Intelligence."

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@opti__mystic

[There] can be only one type of person: universal explainers and constructors. The idea that there could be beings that are to us as we are to animals is a belief in the supernatural.

Deutsch addresses Bostrom's simulation argument in chapter 18.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@opti__mystic

Bostrom's "Superintelligence" came out after Deutsch's "The Beginning of Infinity," but in chapter 9, Deutsch writes:

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@dvassallo

Agreed. But did you know that you now spend a quarter of your time working for a man who makes investment decisions based on race?

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

RT @PessimistsArc:
Oh no Tristan honey... #TheSocialDilemma https://t.co/MHeyuOYywp

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

Very interesting case of (presumably fatal) buggy animal programming. twitter.com/biolocousb/sta…

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

RT @Bunny_Godfather:
Someone put Blade Runner 2049 music to drone footage of San Francisco on 9/09/20 credit to Terry Tsai (YouTube) #BayA…

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@dvassallo

It should be no forced taxation. They’re stealing from you.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

RT @BadEconTakes:
https://t.co/Tn5GU5bHc5

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

RT @DouglasKMurray:
‘What we all know.’ This is the UN on ‘social justice’ theory. Some people still pretend such theory has only corrupted…

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@_Islamicat

Cod really is great.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@AndrewMurphie

Neo-Darwinism is about the non-random differential reproduction of replicators (i.e., genes in biological evolution), not about competition between individual organisms.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@MagnetThatcher @DavidDeutschOxf

But for a general-purpose application, it may be difficult, because there is no special-purpose brain region for pink elephants floating in space (or summoning one's Tesla).

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@MagnetThatcher @DavidDeutschOxf

For the case of driving, that may be okay, since, judging by the article, the corresponding nerve signals go through brain regions dedicated to movement.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@MagnetThatcher @DavidDeutschOxf

Then there's the issue that different people can have denotationally equal but structurally different ideas, and because of their different structure, they'd result in different neuronal patterns despite being qualitatively the same thoughts.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@MagnetThatcher @DavidDeutschOxf

Yes, but maybe the same neuronal patterns correspond not only to specific thoughts of that chair, but also to thoughts of pink elephants floating in space. And anything “in between.”

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@MagnetThatcher @DavidDeutschOxf

Very interesting article. I wonder if different (unrelated or even contradictory thoughts) can sometimes result in the same neuronal patterns (I'm guessing those are what you mean by "thought pattern"). I guess there are infinitely many of those for every thought.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

Disgusting. Big problem that the government there even has the power to enact and enforce these restrictions in the first place. twitter.com/VictoriaPolice…

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@TahaElGabroun @DavidDeutschOxf

Yes, of course. No permission required to reference ideas!

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

RT @Mlaoliwolf:
“the mind contains an arena of self-replicating ideas.”

An interesting foray in Neo-Darwinism theory of the mind, inspired…

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

An evaluation of Neuralink's latest presentation with the help of some of Popper's and @DavidDeutschOxf's ideas. Errors mine.

In short: Neuralink could save time and make more money and progress using Popperian ideas! How? Listen in:

soundcloud.com/dchacke/18-a-p…

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@p_dinheiro @andrewdoyle_com @WatchRatio

this one is either completely nuts or parody

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

Good. The political system is correcting errors.

realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/…

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@SpaceX

Amazing

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

RT @dvassallo:
Rehash: Forms of self-employment income 👇

🟢 info products: volatile, potential for extreme ROI.

🔴 product as a service: sl…

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

They deleted the tweet. Luckily, somebody archived it: archive.is/IImBY

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@dvassallo

How much did you need to spend on advertising for your products to really pick up?

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@clairlemon @Quillette @jonkay

Those memes even spread into Germany and Austria. Makes no sense.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@saraswathisere1

Bezos? Building companies. Making money. Delivering products people need. Making people around him rich. Staving off financial ruin after a divorce. Changing/expanding business models. Etc.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@ks445599

I'm guessing this is the profound evil that can be committed by good intentions.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@HeatherEHeying @HHMusicOfficial

How about letting him sleep?

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

A teacher’s union explicitly supports the (symbolic?) murder of the most successful man in history. twitter.com/CTULocal1/stat…

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@PessimistsArc

Truly nuts

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@BetterCallSaul

We see Howard getting back at Jimmy, Jimmy and Kim in his new office with the pillars, and Kim worrying about going to jail... season 6 foreshadowings? 😳

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

Comrade Newsom is like a totalitarian parent. “The better your grades, the more screen time you’ll get.”

Not to mention that businesses are just going to LOVE opening, closing, re-opening etc in rapid succession as the data change. twitter.com/GavinNewsom/st…

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

youtube.com/watch?v=y1aSqZ…

Now do "superintelligence."

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@PessimistsArc

“Bad for kids!”

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@tomhyde_ @RichardDawkins

Good idea, thanks!

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@MagnetThatcher @RichardDawkins

As for the last point, I guess the "amounts" of evolution compare roughly as follows:

"intra-ideas" >>>> memes >> genes

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@MagnetThatcher @RichardDawkins

Here are some reasons:

  • Vast majority of "intra-ideas" never become memes
  • I don't think memes are essential to explaining how the mind works (only its biol. evolution)
  • Vast majority of the evolution occurring on Earth is that of "intra-ideas," not memes or genes
@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@RJsnda @ks445599 @ella_hoeppner

I think spreading better epistemology and Popperian ideas is a good start.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@MagnetThatcher @RichardDawkins

It's a good idea, but I think I'd prefer not to use the term "meme" so there is no risk of confusion.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@tjaulow @RichardDawkins

They are not necessarily unconscious. Don't know what you mean by "commuting."

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@ks445599 @RJsnda @ella_hoeppner

Yes, I'm saying that it's not obvious. Maybe it's true—maybe it's not—but either way, it's not obvious (because nothing is).

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@RJsnda @ks445599 @ella_hoeppner

Ok. Popper wrote about the dangers of labeling something as "obvious." The truth is hard to come by. And once found—though we can never know we have found it—it can easily be lost again.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@RJsnda @ks445599 @ella_hoeppner

Are you familiar with Popper's work on manifest truth?

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@ks445599 @ella_hoeppner

Has anyone explained how and why head trauma leads to depression, or have they merely pointed out correlations of proxies they labeled "depression"?

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@ella_hoeppner @ks445599

My overall intention is to draw attention to the fact that reductionism of the sort "it's ALL hardware/neurons/chemicals" are dehumanizing because they disregard creativity, and presumably they miss the vast majority of the causes of mental issues: software/bad ideas.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@ella_hoeppner @ks445599

For some cases, that may be so. I don't deny that hardware issues can sometimes lead to mental issues—though I think even in those cases, the mental issues are ideas meant to interpret one's hardware problems.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@ella_hoeppner @moreisdifferent @bnielson01

Not to mention that induction is impossible.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@TahaElGabroun

It can help if that increased processing speed is accompanied by an increased error-correction rate for faster knowledge creation. Also, the mind may conjecture ideas with bad performance characteristics.

But yes, making a month's worth of progress in a day is possible!

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@ks445599 @ella_hoeppner

But depression and anxiety are themselves states of mind.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@ella_hoeppner

Maybe if a hardware issue impedes one's problem-solving ability.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

@ks445599

It's not trendy not to force "the right" ideas onto kids.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

My conclusion for now: look to Musk for engineering insight, look elsewhere for philosophical insight (particularly Deutsch and Popper). This presentation is a good example of how much money and time Musk could save and how much more money he could make with better philosophy :)

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

Unfortunately, I doubt Musk is available to discuss any of this. I think the best thing that could happen is if by some chance he reads David Deutsch's "The Beginning of Infinity" and takes the ideas in the book seriously.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

Software is an emergent phenomenon that can be explained independently of the hardware. Perhaps it's not surprising that a neuroscience company has a hardware bias, but these are important errors that could be fixed by—you guessed it—philosophy.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

The quote is also evidence that Musk is definitely a reductionist, because he throws together concepts like AI (which is software) and the limbic system and cortices (which are hardware), which doesn't make sense.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

In the wannabe-AGI-slaveholder department Musk is heavily influenced by Bostrom.

Do you see how much pessimistic prophecy suddenly found its way into a meeting of otherwise optimistic celebration of engineering progress? Existential threats? Society-wide planning? Etc.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

"And so I think it's going to be important from an existential-threat standpoint to achieve a good AI symbiosis, and that's what I think might be the most important thing that a device like this achieves."

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

"...and having that symbiosis be good such that the future of the world is controlled by the combined will of the people of Earth. That's obviously going to be the future that we want, presumably, if it's the sum of our collective will..."

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

"On a species-level basis I think it's going to be important for us to figure out how we coexist with advanced artificial intelligence [and] achieving some kind of AI symbiosis where you have an AI extension of yourself, like a tertiary layer above the limbic system and cortex.."

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

Okay the live stream is over so I can now rewind to the corresponding passage and quote him properly:

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

Musk's approaches to AGI "safety" and social "planning" are oddly totalitarian and pessimistic sounding. Knowledge of engineering won't help with that. He needs more knowledge of philosophy. Disconcerting given how much influence he has in terms of being able to spread ideas.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

Third, summing the will of everyone with the link into the "will of society" doesn't work without introducing all kinds of inconsistencies and paradoxes. See Balinski's and Young's theorem as explained in BoI chapter 13. There can be no coherent "will of the people."

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

AGI "control problems" are, as I have explained elsewhere, cynical, slaveholder-like, mind-control games. Don't control AGIs, let them be. They're people like you and me.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

First, an AI "extension" of oneself (if it is AGI) doesn't make sense. An AGI is a person. You can't be more of a person through some extension. You either have a second person sharing your brain for resources, or you don't. And you either are a person, or you're not.

@dchackethal · · Show · Open on Twitter

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