Melllvar

“Privacy” in the modern sense is less about protecting you from personal embarrassment or financial loss, and more about protecting society from the dangers of mass data collection.

Historical examples of mass datasets that were misused:

• The Nazis used demographic records (birth, death, marriage records, etc.) to identify Jews and other undesirables in conquered countries.
• Japanese Americans were identified for internment in part through illegal use of census information.
• The Rwanda genocide was facilitated by tribal information being printed on drivers licenses.

In none of these examples were the data collected for the evil purposes it was eventually used for. In some cases, the evil purposes were completely forbidden by the rules governing the data, but they were used anyway.

Information is a form of knowledge. Knowledge is power. And power in the wrong hands is dangerous.

When in doubt, shut up.

The problem is that an AI built to maximize paperclips might conclude that converting the planet to paperclips is an acceptable cost of maximizing paperclip production. It might understand why humans think it’s bad to convert the planet, but disagree. It would need to be explicitly programmed to prioritize human life over paperclips.

otherwise we would just switch it off

If it were super-intelligent, it could probably trick us into leaving it turned on.

What, am I meeting the Pope or something?

A paperclip maximizer driven by self-preservation? What could possiblie go wrong?

Halley is the one who predicted its return mathematically. I’d say that’s more significant than seeing it twice in one lifetime and supposing that it’s the same comet.

The modlog says for being a bot.

The problem is that you’re using Windows 95.

Are there examples of censorship or prior restraint you’d like to highlight?

What, never?

There is no such thing as an innocent billionaire.

It may be possible…

It may not be necessary…

What, no avocado toast?

So… it’s an order, then?

Bill Nyehilism is for me.

Depending on what counts as a “magnet”, the loss of magnetism could destroy the universe.

You have died from dysentery.

But not small ones.

Only people who live in the country.