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ESYudkowsky's profile
Eliezer Yudkowsky
Eliezer Yudkowsky
Eliezer Yudkowsky
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@ESYudkowsky

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Eliezer YudkowskyVerified account

@ESYudkowsky

Ours is the era of inadequate AI alignment theory. Any other facts about this era are relatively unimportant, but sometimes I tweet about them anyway.

Joined June 2014

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    Eliezer Yudkowsky‏Verified account @ESYudkowsky 18 Nov 2017

    A good size for a federal legislature would be 9 senators, around the maximum standard size that the board of a nonprofit might use. It's absurd to think that you can find 535 good directors for a board. Imagine if the Supreme Court had 535 judges.

    10:14 AM - 18 Nov 2017
    • 24 Retweets
    • 104 Likes
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    22 replies 24 retweets 104 likes
      1. Eliezer Yudkowsky‏Verified account @ESYudkowsky 18 Nov 2017

        This is possibly the single largest design flaw contributing to the bad Nash equilibrium in which the US and many other governments are stuck. Every individual high-functioning competent person knows they can't make much difference by being one more face in that crowd.

        3 replies 9 retweets 52 likes
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      1. New conversation
      2. joshrivers‏ @joshrivers 18 Nov 2017
        Replying to @ESYudkowsky

        I feel like the deliberative chokepoint is less of an issue than inadequate full-time, competent advocates for divergent perspectives and needs. I want more representation, not consolidation.

        1 reply 0 retweets 3 likes
      3. Eliezer Yudkowsky‏Verified account @ESYudkowsky 18 Nov 2017
        Replying to @joshrivers

        Then perhaps you need a separate elected body of government for advocates within the bureaucracy ("constituent service"). 535 legislators gets you chaos and star chambers, not diversity.

        1 reply 0 retweets 7 likes
      4. joshrivers‏ @joshrivers 18 Nov 2017
        Replying to @ESYudkowsky

        Reasonable, especially if such advocates were empowered to research, develop, propose, and promote policy proposals. We lack policies that are not self-funding (profitable and capitalizable).

        1 reply 0 retweets 1 like
      5. Eliezer Yudkowsky‏Verified account @ESYudkowsky 18 Nov 2017
        Replying to @joshrivers

        Keep in mind that the current equilibrium is two giant pre-packaged positions, which no individual legislator has the power to defy, and that doesn't include a voice for e.g decriminalizing marijuana. Better nine viewpoints than two.

        1 reply 0 retweets 8 likes
      6. joshrivers‏ @joshrivers 18 Nov 2017
        Replying to @ESYudkowsky

        Is the number of distinct positions/factions simply an inverse function of body size? Or do we have external or structural forces that reduce us to two factions?

        1 reply 0 retweets 1 like
      7. Eliezer Yudkowsky‏Verified account @ESYudkowsky 18 Nov 2017
        Replying to @joshrivers

        We currently have a legislature so large that it reduces to an amorphous blob with two faces. No one person we can vote out of office appears to do anything. "Congress" does it.

        2 replies 3 retweets 0 likes
      8. joshcryer‏ @joshcryer 18 Nov 2017
        Replying to @ESYudkowsky @joshrivers

        First past the post voting results in the two party fringe system we have now, approval voting (or any cardinal voting system) would make the entire system be purple and there would be no real parties anymore. But your blob would still be inefficient.

        1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
      9. joshrivers‏ @joshrivers 18 Nov 2017
        Replying to @joshcryer @ESYudkowsky

        👍👍 on approval voting, but it doesn’t solve for voters inability to connect issues, policies, results, and politician accountability. I like @ESYudkowsky’s elected bureaucracy, perhaps we could use them to give report cards on policymakers, providing professional accountability

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
      10. End of conversation
      1. Robin Hanson‏Verified account @robinhanson 18 Nov 2017
        Replying to @ESYudkowsky

        Legislatures tend to go as the cube root of population. There's a theory to explain this (by the guy who taught the first social science class I ever took). https://fruitsandvotes.wordpress.com/category/electoral-rules/cube-root-law/ …

        0 replies 1 retweet 12 likes
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      2. Pete Alex Harris in Barcelona for a bit‏ @ScavengerEthic 18 Nov 2017
        Replying to @ESYudkowsky

        Maybe that's more like a good size for the executive, not the legislature. If you had 9 presidents, maybe the occasional really shitty one wouldn't be such a problem.

        1 reply 1 retweet 2 likes
      3. Mark P Xu Neyer‏ @APXHard 19 Nov 2017
        Replying to @ScavengerEthic @ESYudkowsky

        the cabinet is 12, which is approximately 9

        1 reply 1 retweet 3 likes
      4. 1 more reply
      1. New conversation
      2. Eric Forste‏ @ericforste 19 Nov 2017
        Replying to @ESYudkowsky

        So weird to think that bodies that have the power to tax ordinary citizens ought to be run on the same principles as limited-liability corporations. Limited liability is a subsidy granted by the state that has authority to tax.

        1 reply 0 retweets 1 like
      3. mavant‏ @mavant 19 Nov 2017
        Replying to @ericforste @ESYudkowsky

        Hmm. I have never thought of limited liability as a subsidy before. It's an interesting idea...

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
      4. End of conversation
      1. New conversation
      2. Srijit Sanyal‏ @_Srijit 18 Nov 2017
        Replying to @ESYudkowsky

        Legislatures aren't about legislating. (Seriously; it follows from democracies not being about decisionmaking.)

        1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
      3. CouchRambo‏ @CouchRambo 18 Nov 2017
        Replying to @_Srijit @ESYudkowsky

        Agreed. The US legislature was not setup to get things done. The institution was created to get IMPORTANT things done. It is literally designed to be inefficient. And quite a few of us think that's the right way to design government.

        1 reply 1 retweet 1 like
      4. joshcryer‏ @joshcryer 18 Nov 2017
        Replying to @CouchRambo @_Srijit @ESYudkowsky

        Isn't this usually the first thing taught in an introductory civics class in college? That democracy is inefficient, and that's good, because slow change is predictable and manageable? Not sure what Elizer is getting at.

        1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
      5. CouchRambo‏ @CouchRambo 18 Nov 2017
        Replying to @joshcryer @_Srijit @ESYudkowsky

        I think he's Canadian? The rest of the world sets their government up to do something (Parlimentary system) so it's a leap for most to understand a Presidential system.

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
      6. End of conversation
      1. Hoaxed Movie - Oct 20th  🇺🇸‏ @BitterCaptain 18 Nov 2017
        Replying to @ESYudkowsky @willchamberlain

        I would agree, except I think that was the point. Founders wanted deadlock. Only best ideas become law. 1913 onward saw a departure from this, now too much is entrenched. Need to raze Federal Register back to Amendments only.

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
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