Agents whose desires are absolute and not relative to others are conceivable, but not evolvable, because biological fitness is always relative to others in a population. Maybe AIs could solve the desire problem, but probably not any biological organism. Probably social animals have a bigger desire problem than asocial animals.
Agents whose desires are absolute and not relative to others are conceivable, but not evolvable, because biological fitness is always relative to others in a population. Maybe AIs could solve the desire problem, but probably not any biological organism. Probably social animals have a bigger desire problem than asocial animals.
Yea, good questions. Genetic engineering questions are beyond my expertise, but I am skeptical that an entire motivational architecture can be genetically eliminated or modified without other undesirable side effects, and I doubt anyone would want to try. I'm also skeptical that suffering can or should be eliminated. I wrote in "You Actually Want to Suffer" that suffering has a function and it's not just bad vibes for no reason. Most people want their suffering to exist because it helps them achieve their goals and steer them in the right direction. Also, yea, the entire project of trying to promote happiness and reduce suffering is bullshit imo, because we don't want stuff in our heads; we want stuff in the world.
Agents whose desires are absolute and not relative to others are conceivable, but not evolvable, because biological fitness is always relative to others in a population. Maybe AIs could solve the desire problem, but probably not any biological organism. Probably social animals have a bigger desire problem than asocial animals.
Yea, good questions. Genetic engineering questions are beyond my expertise, but I am skeptical that an entire motivational architecture can be genetically eliminated or modified without other undesirable side effects, and I doubt anyone would want to try. I'm also skeptical that suffering can or should be eliminated. I wrote in "You Actually Want to Suffer" that suffering has a function and it's not just bad vibes for no reason. Most people want their suffering to exist because it helps them achieve their goals and steer them in the right direction. Also, yea, the entire project of trying to promote happiness and reduce suffering is bullshit imo, because we don't want stuff in our heads; we want stuff in the world.