Peter Scott

Here's a longer take of why I'm against e/acc, since I was not that clear & many commenters got it wrong: I'm an OG transhumanist singularitarian, broadly in favor of rapid tech progress as the best way to relieve suffering, upgrade civilization & protect our species (multi-planetary), including w/ uploading, intelligence augmentation via human/AI fusion, and all that fun crazy stuff. (this is NOT EA, we predate it by decades - see extropianism). I see a lot of those ideas in e/acc, but the delta I observe (also to mainstream pro-growth movements like @rootsofprogress) is that while my tribe sees some risk of really bad outcomes ahead, e/acc shits on xrisk. Especially AI, not just disagreeing but **mocking them as an outgroup**. So that's what e/acc is to me - a group that sneers at not just me but almost all the thinkers it draws from, based on a naive, Pollyannaish belief that because of "free energy" 🤮 only good futures are possible. A group whose commenters label me as a pro-centralization Marxist for thinking some bad futures are possible ?!?! Nice try bros, but I've literally been fighting Marxism & centralization since @beffjezos was in elementary school. You know who else thinks that bad futures are possible & worth worrying about / working on? That famous Marxist @peterthiel. I trace the philosophical roots (or at least most similarity) of "the will of the universe is towards complexity" idea to @Outsideness, except that Nick's view is crucially different. He views the arc of progress as being towards the emancipation of capital from the bonds of humanity, which he favors, because he sides with capital AGAINST humanity. I find his analysis pretty compelling, which is horrifying because - call me crazy - I side with humanity (+ its uploads/forks). My fellow primates equipped for friendship, love, all the warm fuzzy good stuff. Those attributes are *not* universal or inevitable. Most species on earth are insects, wired VERY differently - and intelligent spiders ain't gonna have warm fuzzy hearts (h/t Jaan Tallin) I also cited @slatestarcodex's Moloch as a model of a profoundly deep universal dynamic, which I find much more compelling than "free energy". Unfortunately it is a horrifying & anti-human force (slowly) squeezing out any complexity that does not serve the fitness function: slatestarcodex.com/2014/07/3… So I disagree that universal dynamics inexorably produce complexity that is good-for-humanity+. The opposite seems much more likely, so I see e/acc as beckoning towards a heaven that may easily be a hell (a classic theme in stories like John Carter #2: amzn.to/3RMJPqP). But really, let's be honest, I'm not standing up because of philosophy, but because of tribe. E/acc attracts half my friends while shitting on the other half, and for dumb reasons. That's tantamount to a declaration of war. Not my war to fight, I already have an extremely challenging full-time movement-leader job, but I can at least sound the battle horn. yours in service of humanity, with love for all non-insectoid beings, Patri p.s. if you haven't taken my e/acc polls: xitter.cf/patrissimo/statu… xitter.cf/patrissimo/statu…