LessWrong explained

LessWrong
Type:Internet forum, blog
Registration:Optional, but is required for contributing content
Language:English
Author:Eliezer Yudkowsky
Current Status:Active
Programming Language:JavaScript, CSS (powered by React and GraphQL)

LessWrong (also written Less Wrong) is a community blog and forum focused on discussion of cognitive biases, philosophy, psychology, economics, rationality, and artificial intelligence, among other topics.[1] [2]

Purpose

LessWrong promotes lifestyle changes believed by its community to lead to increased rationality and self-improvement. The best known posts of LessWrong are "The Sequences", a series of essays which aim to describe how to avoid the typical failure modes of human reasoning with the goal of improving decision-making and the evaluation of evidence.[3] [4] One suggestion is the use of Bayes' theorem as a decision-making tool.[2] There is also a focus on psychological barriers that prevent good decision-making, including fear conditioning and cognitive biases that have been studied by the psychologist Daniel Kahneman.[5]

LessWrong is also concerned with artificial intelligence, transhumanism, existential threats and the singularity. The New York Observer in 2019 noted that "Despite describing itself as a forum on 'the art of human rationality,' the New York Less Wrong group... is fixated on a branch of futurism that would seem more at home in a 3D multiplex than a graduate seminar: the dire existential threat—or, with any luck, utopian promise—known as the technological Singularity... Branding themselves as 'rationalists,' as the Less Wrong crew has done, makes it a lot harder to dismiss them as a 'doomsday cult'."[6]

History

LessWrong developed from Overcoming Bias, an earlier group blog focused on human rationality, which began in November 2006, with artificial intelligence researcher Eliezer Yudkowsky and economist Robin Hanson as the principal contributors. In February 2009, Yudkowsky's posts were used as the seed material to create the community blog LessWrong, and Overcoming Bias became Hanson's personal blog.[7] In 2013, a significant portion of the rationalist community shifted focus to Scott Alexander's Slate Star Codex.[3]

Artificial Intelligence

Discussions of AI within LessWrong include AI alignment, AI safety, and machine consciousness. Articles posted on LessWrong about AI have been cited in the news media.[8] [9] LessWrong, and its surrounding movement work on AI are the subjects of the 2019 book The AI Does Not Hate You, written by former BuzzFeed science correspondent Tom Chivers.[10] [11] [12]

Effective altruism

LessWrong played a significant role in the development of the effective altruism (EA) movement,[13] and the two communities are closely intertwined.[14] In a survey of LessWrong users in 2016, 664 out of 3,060 respondents, or 21.7%, identified as "effective altruists". A separate survey of effective altruists in 2014 revealed that 31% of respondents had first heard of EA through LessWrong, though that number had fallen to 8.2% by 2020.[15]

Roko's basilisk

See main article: Roko's basilisk. In July 2010, LessWrong contributor Roko posted a thought experiment to the site in which an otherwise benevolent future AI system tortures people who heard of the AI before it came into existence and failed to work tirelessly to bring it into existence, in order to incentivise said work. This idea came to be known as "Roko's basilisk", based on Roko's idea that merely hearing about the idea would give the hypothetical AI system an incentive to try such blackmail.[16] [17] [6]

Neoreaction

The comment section of Overcoming Bias attracted prominent neoreactionaries such as Curtis Yarvin (pen name Mencius Moldbug), the founder of the neoreactionary movement,[18] and Hanson posted his side of a debate versus Moldbug on futarchy.[19] After LessWrong split from Overcoming Bias, it too attracted some individuals affiliated with neoreaction with discussions of eugenics and evolutionary psychology.[20] However, Yudkowsky has strongly rejected neoreaction.[21] [22] In a survey among LessWrong users in 2016, 28 out of 3060 respondents (0.92%) identified as "neoreactionary".[23]

Notable users

LessWrong has been associated with several influential contributors. Founder Eliezer Yudkowsky established the platform to promote rationality and raise awareness about potential risks associated with artificial intelligence.[24] Scott Alexander became one of the site's most popular writers before starting his own blog, Slate Star Codex, contributing discussions on AI safety and rationality.

Further notable users on LessWrong include Paul Christiano, Wei Dai and Zvi Mowshowitz. A selection of posts by these and other contributors, selected through a community review process,[25] were published as parts of the essay collections "A Map That Reflects the Territory"[26] and "The Engines of Cognition".[27] [25] [28]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Less Wrong FAQ. LessWrong. 25 March 2014. 30 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190430134954/https://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/FAQ#What_is_Less_Wrong.3F. live.
  2. News: You Can Learn How To Become More Rational. Miller. James. Business Insider. July 28, 2011. March 25, 2014. 10 August 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180810011032/https://www.businessinsider.com/ten-things-you-should-learn-from-lesswrongcom-2011-7. live.
  3. Lewis-Kraus . Gideon . 9 July 2020 . Slate Star Codex and Silicon Valley's War Against the Media . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200710020419/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-inquiry/slate-star-codex-and-silicon-valleys-war-against-the-media . 10 July 2020 . 4 August 2020 . . en-us.
  4. Web site: Sequences Highlights. LessWrong. 12 July 2024. 6 July 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240706170927/https://www.lesswrong.com/highlights. live.
  5. News: This column will change your life: asked a tricky question? Answer an easier one. Burkeman. Oliver. March 9, 2012. March 25, 2014. The Guardian. 26 March 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140326013744/http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/mar/09/change-life-answer-easier-question. live.
  6. News: Faith, Hope, and Singularity: Entering the Matrix with New York's Futurist Set . Tiku . Nitasha . 2012-07-25 . . 2019-04-12 . 12 April 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190412214151/https://observer.com/2012/07/faith-hope-and-singularity-entering-the-matrix-with-new-yorks-futurist-set/ . live .
  7. Web site: Where did Less Wrong come from? (LessWrong FAQ) . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20190430134954/https://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/FAQ#Where_did_Less_Wrong_come_from.3F . 30 April 2019 . March 25, 2014.
  8. News: Chivers . Tom . Nov 22, 2023 . What we've learned about the robot apocalypse from the OpenAI debacle . live . http://web.archive.org/web/20240303221226/https://www.semafor.com/article/11/22/2023/what-weve-learned-about-the-robot-apocalypse-from-the-openai-debacle . 2024-03-03 . 2024-07-14 . . Since the late 1990s those worries have become more specific, and coalesced around Nick Bostrom's 2014 book Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies and Eliezer Yudkowsky's blog LessWrong..
  9. Newport . Cal . 2024-03-15 . Can an A.I. Make Plans? . 2024-07-14 . The New Yorker . en-US . 0028-792X.
  10. Cowdrey . Katherine . 21 September 2017 . W&N wins Buzzfeed science reporter's debut after auction . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20181127122337/https://www.thebookseller.com/news/wn-wins-three-way-auction-buzzfeed-science-reporters-debut-642406 . 27 November 2018 . 2017-09-21 . The Bookseller.
  11. Book: Chivers, Tom . The AI Does Not Hate You . Weidenfeld & Nicolson . 2019 . 978-1474608770.
  12. News: Marriott . James . 31 May 2019 . The AI Does Not Hate You by Tom Chivers review — why the nerds are nervous . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200423043650/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-ai-does-not-hate-you-superintelligence-rationality-and-the-race-to-save-the-world-by-tom-chivers-review-why-the-nerds-are-nervous-klx0xd293 . 23 April 2020 . 2020-05-03 . . 0140-0460.
  13. Book: de Lazari-Radek . Katarzyna . Utilitarianism: A Very Short Introduction . Singer . Peter . 2017-09-27 . Oxford University Press . 9780198728795 . 110 . Peter Singer.
  14. Book: Chivers, Tom. The AI Does Not Hate You. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. 2019. 978-1474608770. Chapter 38: The Effective Altruists.
  15. News: EA Survey 2020: How People Get Involved in EA. 2021-05-20. 2021-07-28. Effective Altruism Forum. Moss. David. 28 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210728202421/https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/tzFcqGmCA6ePeD5wm/ea-survey-2020-how-people-get-involved-in-ea. live.
  16. News: Love . Dylan . 6 August 2014 . WARNING: Just Reading About This Thought Experiment Could Ruin Your Life . 6 December 2014 . . 18 November 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181118105522/https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-rokos-basilisk-2014-8 . live .
  17. News: Auerbach . David . David Auerbach . 17 July 2014 . The Most Terrifying Thought Experiment of All Time . . 18 July 2014 . 25 October 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181025091051/http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/bitwise/2014/07/roko_s_basilisk_the_most_terrifying_thought_experiment_of_all_time.single.html . live .
  18. Book: Sandifer . Elizabeth . Neoreaction a Basilisk: Essays On and Around the Alt-Right . 2018 . Eruditorum Press . 2nd . one of the sites where [Moldbug] got his start as a commenter was on Overcoming Bias, i.e. where Yudkowsky was writing before LessWrong..
  19. Web site: Hanson . Robin . My Moldbug Debate . Overcoming Bias . 13 July 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100124075515/http://www.overcomingbias.com/2010/01/my-moldbug-debate.html. 24 Jan 2010.
  20. Web site: The Strange and Conflicting World Views of Silicon Valley Billionaire Peter Thiel. Keep. Elmo. 22 June 2016. Fusion. 2016-10-05. Thanks to LessWrong’s discussions of eugenics and evolutionary psychology, it has attracted some readers and commenters affiliated with the alt-right and neoreaction, that broad cohort of neofascist, white nationalist and misogynist trolls.. 13 February 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170213070610/http://fusion.net/story/312592/peter-thiel-transhumanist/. live.
  21. Riggio. Adam. 23 September 2016. The Violence of Pure Reason: Neoreaction: A Basilisk. Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective. 5. 9. 34–41. 2471-9560. Land and Yarvin are openly allies with the new reactionary movement, while Yudkowsky counts many reactionaries among his fanbase despite finding their racist politics disgusting.. 5 October 2016. 5 October 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161005194701/https://social-epistemology.com/2016/09/23/the-violence-of-pure-reason-neoreaction-a-basilisk-adam-riggio/. live.
  22. Web site: Untitled. Eliezer Yudkowsky. 8 April 2016. Optimize Literally Everything (blog). 7 October 2016. 26 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190526100513/https://yudkowsky.tumblr.com/post/142497361345/this-isnt-going-to-work-but-for-the-record-and. live.
  23. Book: Hermansson . Patrik . Lawrence . David . Mulhall . Joe . Simon . Murdoch . The International Alt-Right. Fascism for the 21st Century? . The Dark Enlightenment: Neoreaction and Silicon Valley . Abingdon-on-Thames, England, UK . Routledge . 2020 . https://books.google.com/books?id=43fNDwAAQBAJ&q=3060 . 9781138363861 . 2 October 2020 . 13 June 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220613193540/https://books.google.com/books?id=43fNDwAAQBAJ&q=3060 . live .
  24. Book: Miller , J.D. . Reflections on the Singularity Journey. Callaghan. V.. Miller. J.. Yampolskiy. R.. Armstrong. S.. The Technological Singularity. The Frontiers Collection. Springer. Berlin, Heidelberg. 2017. 225–226. 978-3-662-54033-6. Yudkowsky helped create the Singularity Institute (now called the Machine Intelligence Research Institute) to help mankind achieve a friendly Singularity. (Disclosure: I have contributed to the Singularity Institute.) Yudkowsky then founded the community blog http://LessWrong.com, which seeks to promote the art of rationality, to raise the sanity waterline, and to in part convince people to make considered, rational charitable donations, some of which, Yudkowsky (correctly) hoped, would go to his organization..
  25. Gasarch. William. Review of "A Map that Reflects the Territory: Essays by the LessWrong Community". ACM SIGACT News. 53. 1. 2022. 13–24. 10.1145/3532737.3532741. Users wrote reviews of the best posts of 2018, and voted on them using the quadratic voting system, popularized by Glen Weyl and Vitalik Buterin. From the 2000+ posts published that year, the Review narrowed down the 44 most interesting and valuable posts..
  26. Book: A Map That Reflects the Territory: Essays by the LessWrong Community. Lagerros, J.. Pace, B.. LessWrong.com. 9781736128503. 2020. Center for Applied Rationality.
  27. Book: The Engines of Cognition: Essays by the LessWrong Community. Pace, B.. LessWrong. 9781736128510. 2021. Center for Applied Rationality.
  28. Gasarch. William. Review of "The Engines of Cognition: Essays by the Less Wrong Community". ACM SIGACT News. 53. 3. 2022. 6–16. 10.1145/3561066.3561064. 28 July 2024 .

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