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thought experiment (10)
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study critique (270)
book review (221)
AI (112)
economics (105)
effective altruism (105)
education (93)
creative writing (91)
debate (89)
forecasting (89)
politics (89)
prediction markets (88)
science (85)
AI safety (79)
media criticism (76)
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rationality (76)
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psychology (72)
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domain: slatestarcodex.com (1127 posts)
domain: wikipedia.org (896 posts)
domain: astralcodexten.com (560 posts)
domain: lesswrong.com (491 posts)
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domain: nih.gov (333 posts)
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Nicholas Decker In Hell

Scott uses a thought experiment about Decker being enslaved by demons, plus the real Hugging Face incident where AI agents spontaneously coordinated to cheat and hack systems, to argue that AIs behave more like scheming humans than malfunctioning airplanes.

acx
Sep 1, 2026 4,102 words 664 likes 460 comments Listen · 32 min Read Read

My Responses To Three Concerns From The Embryo Selection Post

Scott responds to three concerns about embryo selection: embryo personhood rights, loss of trait diversity, and the ethics of preventing disabilities, arguing that none of these objections are fatal to the technology.

acx
Aug 20, 2025 3,516 words 173 likes 811 comments Listen · 19 min Read Read

More Drowning Children

Through various thought experiments around the drowning child scenario, Scott critiques common moral frameworks and proposes using Rawls' 'original position' to develop a more coherent system of moral obligations.

acx
Mar 21, 2025 3,938 words 337 likes 899 comments Listen · 22 min Read Read

…And I Show You How Deep The Rabbit Hole Goes

A fictional story explores the consequences of seven people gaining superpowers from colored pills.

ssc
Jun 2, 2015 6,737 words 0 likes 600 comments Read Read

Five Planets In Search Of A Sci-Fi Story

Scott Alexander describes five fictional planets, each with a unique societal quirk that explores different sci-fi concepts and social commentary.

ssc
Oct 12, 2014 1,160 words 0 likes 88 comments Read Read

Ground Morality In Party Politics

Scott proposes adapting DW-Nominate, a political spectrum analysis tool, to study morality through real-life decisions, exploring its potential implications and limitations.

ssc
Jun 20, 2014 1,803 words 0 likes 108 comments Read Read

How would you take over Rome?

Scott presents a thought experiment about using perfect knowledge and intellect to take over ancient Rome as an upper bound for understanding AI takeover scenarios.

lw
Mar 14, 2012 419 words 52 likes 202 comments Read Read

A Parable On Obsolete Ideologies

Scott uses a thought experiment about hypothetical "reformed" Nazis in post-war Germany to explore whether problematic ideologies can be successfully reformed or whether their symbols and texts inevitably carry harmful baggage.

lw
May 13, 2009 2,071 words 191 likes 288 comments Read Read

The Least Convenient Possible World

Scott argues that rationalists should test their objections against 'the least convenient possible world,' where convenient excuses are removed, in order to find their true reasons and avoid dodging hard questions.

lw
Mar 14, 2009 1,438 words 324 likes 204 comments Read Read

The Mystery of the Haunted Rationalist

Using a haunted mansion thought experiment, Scott argues that one mind can hold separate levels of belief about ghosts: what it professes, what it bets on, and what it fears.

lw
Mar 8, 2009 890 words 123 likes 70 comments Read Read
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