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This is called “the end justifies the means” and EA did not invent it, unfortunately.
by 7e 4y ago
This is called “the end justifies the means” and EA did not invent it, unfortunately.
- ETH_start 4y agoThat phrase refers to doing immoral acts and justifying it by the supposedly positive impact of that act in the long run. It does not refer to acting in the long term future's interest instead of the short term future's.
- woodruffw 4y agoHonestly, I think this is even more perverse than the "normal" hedonic trap of the ends justifying the means: this particular branch of EA expects us to make world-altering decisions based on what mostly comes off as speculative science fiction. I would understand it more if it was purely hedonic: at least I could then argue about whether the ends actually do justify the means! But instead it's this sort of unfalsifiable, "but what if" reasoning that's actively diverting money away from worthwhile causes.