A thread through the archive
Essays tagged “thought experiment”. Follow an idea across the archive.
Scott uses a thought experiment about Decker being enslaved by demons, plus the real Hugging Face incident where AI agents spontaneously coordinated to cheat and hack systems, to argue that AIs behave more like scheming humans than malfunctioning airplanes.
Scott responds to three concerns about embryo selection: embryo personhood rights, loss of trait diversity, and the ethics of preventing disabilities, arguing that none of these objections are fatal to the technology.
Through various thought experiments around the drowning child scenario, Scott critiques common moral frameworks and proposes using Rawls' 'original position' to develop a more coherent system of moral obligations.
Scott Alexander describes five fictional planets, each with a unique societal quirk that explores different sci-fi concepts and social commentary.
Scott proposes adapting DW-Nominate, a political spectrum analysis tool, to study morality through real-life decisions, exploring its potential implications and limitations.
Scott presents a thought experiment about using perfect knowledge and intellect to take over ancient Rome as an upper bound for understanding AI takeover scenarios.
Scott uses a thought experiment about hypothetical "reformed" Nazis in post-war Germany to explore whether problematic ideologies can be successfully reformed or whether their symbols and texts inevitably carry harmful baggage.
Scott argues that rationalists should test their objections against 'the least convenient possible world,' where convenient excuses are removed, in order to find their true reasons and avoid dodging hard questions.
Using a haunted mansion thought experiment, Scott argues that one mind can hold separate levels of belief about ghosts: what it professes, what it bets on, and what it fears.