What would you like to see in a book called "Roko's Basilisk"?

[reddragdiva]

I would like your assistance in the eternal and vital work of increasing existential risk.

Specifically: I've written a surprisingly popular book about why bitcoins and blockchains are trash. I basically have a second part-time job now as a finance journalist, which supplies a bit of welcome cash.

But sales are dropping off - so it's time to write the next one.

The options are:

1. The Good, The Bad and the Blockchain: For A Few Bitcoins More - the obvious sequel. I have a blog full of material to adapt. It won't be as incisive or impactful as the first one, but it should sell at least a few copies.

2. Roko's Basilisk: A Savage Journey to the Dark Heart of the Transhumanist Dream.

I wanted to ask what you would like to see in that second one. That's one hell of a subtitle, but never shrink from audacity after all.

If you saw a book of that title and subtitle:

• what would you expect to see in it?
• what would you really like to see explained in it?
• what “take that you shitheads” swipes would you be delighted to see someone finally writing up?

I should point out - this may have slight commercial prospects. Apart from the mention of the Basilisk on Silicon Valley, Tom Chivers (the science journalist) is writing one about these people too, through a real publisher. We've spoken about the topic, and basically I think both books will promote each other - one is a weirdness, two is a Thing.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

The Rationalwiki entry (that I think you might have written?) is already such a good entry-level overview of such a (literally) hostile topic. Hm. Other than expanding on everything covered there, I think such a book should include a more detailed history of Yudkowksy himself, and LessWrong's roots and offshoots, and how this all arises out of Yudkoswky's personal idiosyncratic weirdness. Do we know anything much about Roko themselves? I'm sure they never want to talk or think about this ever again, but shedding any light on how Roko connected up these ideas (even if you were tracing their posting history) would be extremely interesting. I think that horror-story aspect of the book would be very appealing, especially to those not already familiar with the topic.

Something I'd really like to see covered is something El Sandifer mentioned on Twitter ages ago, which is how *scarily* influential Yudkowsky has been in Silicon Valley thinking ("thinking") on this subject, and if you're going to drop your napalm snark on anything the ways in which LessWrong-y fantastical nightmares are actively overshadowing the real harm of AI being done right now with regards to bias and discrimination would be one of your most on-point targets. Really just go to town on how hard MIRI fucked up everything they ever set out to do.

— Evan

[reddragdiva]

Roko is alive and well and I actually have Facebook friends in common with him not via LW. His Facebook is a sea of transhumanism, Men's Rights Activist memes and scientific racism.

[(Anonymous)]

First reaction is an instinctive "oh ew", followed by "actually yeah that's about what I'd expect from a character in a Nick Land novella."

— Evan

[siderea]

how this all arises out of Yudkoswky's personal idiosyncratic weirdness

I find eccentricity-shaming odious, myself, and little drops my opinion of a journalist (or "journalist") faster. If he's done something actually morally wrong, of course, have at it.

[reddragdiva]

It's pretty relevant when he's got a 501(c)3 for it taking somewhere over a million dollars a year. At that point, talking about this stuff is in the public interest.

But essentially, the entire philosophical edifice of the Sequences, and the weird ideas that if you look sideways add up to Roko's basilisk, entirely stem from the premise "I want to live forever, an emulation running in a supercomputer counts, how do I get there?"