ACX
The Canal Papers
Scott Alexander examines the 'canalization' theory in computational psychiatry and its refinement through deep learning concepts in the Deep CANAL model.
32 min read 4,891 words
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2,007 essaysACX
Your Book Review: Real Raw News
The review analyzes Real Raw News, a popular conspiracy theory website, examining its content, appeal, and implications in the context of modern media consumption and AI technology.
55 min read 8,377 words
ACX
AI Chip Regulation Is Not A Dystopian Surveillance State
Scott Alexander argues that Plan A's proposed AI chip regulations are not a dystopian surveillance state, but rather comparable to existing regulations on controlled substances, and that most feared dystopian outcomes already exist in current banking and AI chat monitoring.
26 min read 3,889 words
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California Gubernatorial Candidates From Z to Z
Scott Alexander humorously reviews the 26 candidates for California governor in 2022, highlighting their diverse backgrounds and unconventional policy ideas.
74 min read 11,334 words
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Why I Am Not (As Much Of) A Doomer (As Some People)
Scott Alexander examines optimistic and pessimistic scenarios for AI risk, weighing the potential for intermediate AIs to help solve alignment against the threat of deceptive 'sleeper agent' AIs.
28 min read 4,264 words
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Your Book Review: Dominion
In 'Dominion', conservative Christian Matthew Scully makes a comprehensive case for animal welfare, critiquing practices like factory farming and hunting from religious, ethical, and scientific perspectives.
44 min read 6,728 words
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It's Fair To Describe Schizophrenia As Probably Mostly Genetic
Scott Alexander argues that schizophrenia should be described as predominantly genetic, addressing counterarguments and emphasizing the importance of this perspective for prevention strategies.
26 min read 3,908 words
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Royce On San Francisco
Scott Alexander shares excerpts from Josiah Royce's 1886 history of 1850s San Francisco, showing that many supposedly modern urban problems—housing prices, crime, family breakdown, NIMBYism, boom-bust cycles—existed in frontier California.
16 min read 2,398 words
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Beyond "Abolish The FDA"
Scott Alexander examines the complexities of abolishing the FDA and proposes more practical alternatives to increase medical innovation while maintaining safeguards.
16 min read 2,337 words
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Book Review: San Fransicko
A detailed review of Michael Shellenberger's 'San Fransicko', examining its critiques of San Francisco's progressive policies on homelessness, drugs, and crime.
166 min read 25,602 words
ACX
OpenAI's "Planning For AGI And Beyond"
Scott Alexander critically examines OpenAI's 'Planning For AGI And Beyond' statement, discussing its implications for AI safety and development.
29 min read 4,495 words
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Contra Smith On Jewish Selective Immigration
Scott Alexander argues that Jewish overachievement is real and deserves continued study, countering Noah Smith's attempt to downplay its significance.
26 min read 3,906 words
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The Metaculus Threat To Democracy Index
Scott examines the Metaculus Threat To Democracy Index, which uses crowdsourced forecasting to measure democratic health, discussing its advantages over traditional expert-based indices and its vulnerabilities to manipulation and selection bias.
11 min read 1,649 words
ACX
Why Is The Academic Job Market So Weird?
Scott Alexander examines the strange dynamics of the academic job market, questioning why colleges prefer new PhDs for tenure-track positions and proposing potential explanations for this system.
8 min read 1,221 words
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Consciousness As Recursive Reflections
Daniel Böttger proposes a new theory of consciousness as recursive reflections of neural oscillations, explaining qualia and suggesting experimental tests.
46 min read 7,042 words
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Who Does Polygenic Selection Help?
Scott Alexander argues that using polygenic screening to select low-risk embryos can be considered as preventing genetic disorders, drawing parallels with other accepted preventive practices.
8 min read 1,185 words
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Deliberative Alignment, And The Spec
Scott analyzes OpenAI's new deliberative alignment approach and explores different possibilities for who should ultimately control AI systems as they become more powerful.
16 min read 2,460 words
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Does Capitalism Beat Charity?
Scott Alexander compares the marginal impact of capitalism vs. charity, finding that traditional charity often seems more effective despite capitalism's historical success.
16 min read 2,413 words
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If You Can Be Bad, You Can Also Be Good
Scott Alexander argues against the claim that 'rationality free from ideology doesn't exist', asserting that recognizing irrationality implies the existence of rationality.
7 min read 961 words
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Billionaires, Surplus, And Replaceability
Scott Alexander examines the justification for billionaire wealth, introducing the concept of replaceability to challenge the standard neoliberal defense.
11 min read 1,637 words
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Nick Cammarata On Jhana
Scott Alexander examines the Buddhist concept of jhana, a blissful meditative state, through Nick Cammarata's experiences, exploring its implications for understanding pleasure and reinforcement.
8 min read 1,177 words
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Slightly Against Underpopulation Worries
Scott Alexander argues that underpopulation concerns are overstated and likely irrelevant due to expected technological changes by 2100.
22 min read 3,325 words
LW
Talking Snakes: A Cautionary Tale
Scott uses a conversation with a Muslim woman who found evolution absurd to show that the absurdity heuristic, as used in Bill Maher's "talking snake" argument, is a bad way to dismiss beliefs.
6 min read 844 words
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Contra The xAI Alignment Plan
Scott Alexander critiques Elon Musk's xAI alignment strategy of creating a 'maximally curious' AI, arguing it's both unfeasible and potentially dangerous.
21 min read 3,140 words
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The Consequences Of Radical Reform
Scott Alexander examines a study showing that Napoleonic reforms led to better economic outcomes, challenging the idea that evolved systems are always superior to designed ones.
11 min read 1,686 words