The post explores the Far Out Initiative's goal to eliminate suffering through biotechnology, inspired by a pain-free woman and David Pearce's philosophy. Longer summary

This post discusses the Far Out Initiative, a project aimed at eliminating suffering through biotechnology. It begins by introducing Jo Cameron, a woman genetically incapable of feeling pain or anxiety, and explores the philosophical implications of her condition. The post then delves into David Pearce's suffering abolitionism philosophy and his practical approaches to ending suffering. Finally, it describes the Far Out Initiative's current efforts, led by Marcin Kowrygo, to create suffering-free animals through genetic engineering and potentially extend this to humans in the future. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines the ethical implications of AI potentially replacing humans, arguing for careful consideration in AI development rather than blind acceptance. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses the debate between those who prioritize human preservation in the face of AI advancement and those who welcome AI replacement. He explores optimistic and pessimistic scenarios for AI development, and outlines key considerations such as consciousness, individuation, and the preservation of human-like traits in AI. Scott argues that creating AIs worthy of succeeding humanity requires careful work and consideration, rather than blindly accepting any AI outcome. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander challenges the idea of an 'AI race', comparing AI to other transformative technologies and discussing scenarios where the race concept might apply. Longer summary

Scott Alexander argues against the notion of an 'AI race' between countries, suggesting that most technologies, including potentially AI, are not truly races with clear winners. He compares AI to other transformative technologies like electricity, automobiles, and computers, which didn't significantly alter global power balances. The post explains that the concept of an 'AI race' mainly makes sense in two scenarios: the need to align AI before it becomes potentially destructive, or in a 'hard takeoff' scenario where AI rapidly self-improves. Scott criticizes those who simultaneously dismiss alignment concerns while emphasizing the need to 'win' the AI race. He also discusses post-singularity scenarios, arguing that many current concerns would likely become irrelevant in such a radically transformed world. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander analyzes the economic and societal implications of semaglutide, a new effective weight loss drug, and its potential to reshape obesity treatment. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the economic and societal impact of semaglutide, a new weight loss drug. He discusses its effectiveness, current limited availability, and potential future widespread use. The post covers the drug's history, its current pricing and accessibility issues, and projections for its future market. Scott also touches on the broader implications for obesity treatment and the possibility of a 'post-obesity' future. Shorter summary

The post explores how correlated variables can diverge at extreme values, applying this concept to happiness measures and moral systems. Longer summary

This post explores the concept of 'tails coming apart' and its application to various domains, particularly morality. The author begins by discussing how strongly correlated variables can diverge at extreme values, using examples like grip strength vs. arm strength. He then applies this concept to happiness, showing how different measures of happiness (e.g., life satisfaction, positive emotions) can lead to different countries being ranked as 'happiest'. The post extends this idea to morality, arguing that while different moral systems may agree in everyday situations, they diverge dramatically when taken to extremes. The author suggests that this divergence poses challenges for developing moral systems that can handle transhuman scenarios. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander posts a classified thread and advertises rationalist community housing in Berkeley, describing four available houses and inviting applications. Longer summary

Scott Alexander announces another classified thread for ads, personals, and success stories. He then provides a detailed advertisement for rationalist community housing in Berkeley. The post describes four available houses near an existing cluster of rationalist group homes on Ward Street. Scott explains the community's desire to create a center for their movement in this area. He invites interested parties, both existing community members and newcomers, to apply for entire houses or single rooms. The post concludes with a disclaimer about the Bay Area's high costs, politics, and mixed experiences within the rationalist community. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander reviews Robin Hanson's 'Age of Em', praising its creativity while critiquing its assumptions and arguing the future may be even stranger. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews Robin Hanson's book 'Age of Em', which predicts a future where human brain emulations ('ems') dominate the economy. The book explores in great detail how an em society might function, with copied minds running at different speeds and bizarre social dynamics. While praising Hanson's creativity and rigor, Scott critiques some of the assumptions and argues the future may be even stranger and potentially more dystopian than Hanson envisions, possibly resembling Nick Land's idea of an 'Ascended Economy' detached from human values. Shorter summary

A mythological tale contrasts the Goddess of Cancer's primal drives with the Goddess of Everything Else's push for cooperation and progress, showing how the latter gradually wins over creation. Longer summary

This post presents a mythological narrative of two opposing forces: the Goddess of Cancer, representing primal drives for survival and reproduction, and the Goddess of Everything Else, embodying cooperation, beauty, and progress. The story unfolds in stages, showing how the Goddess of Everything Else subtly guides evolution and civilization, always finding ways to align her goals with the Goddess of Cancer's imperative to 'KILL CONSUME MULTIPLY CONQUER'. Through each stage - from single-celled organisms to complex civilizations and beyond - the Goddess of Everything Else gradually wins over creation, ultimately freeing humanity from the bonds of their original nature to pursue greater things across the stars. Shorter summary

A satirical future op-ed argues that not giving children 'super-enhancement gene therapy' is child abuse, mirroring current pro-vaccination arguments. Longer summary

This satirical post, written as if from the future year 2065, critiques current anti-vaccination arguments by applying them to a hypothetical future technology: super-enhancement designer baby gene therapy. The author, posing as a bioethicist, argues that not giving children this therapy is child abuse and a public health issue. The post mimics common pro-vaccination arguments, citing increased crime rates, car accidents, and disease outbreaks as consequences of not enhancing children. It concludes by calling for severe restrictions on unenhanced children and punishment for parents who refuse the therapy. The satire aims to highlight the absurdity of current anti-vaccination arguments by applying similar logic to a more extreme scenario. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander analyzes Moloch as a metaphor for destructive societal coordination problems, using various examples to show how competing incentives can lead to negative outcomes. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the concept of Moloch as a metaphor for destructive coordination problems in society, drawing on Allen Ginsberg's poem and various examples to illustrate how competing incentives can lead to negative outcomes for all. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander rewrites classic fairy tales to illustrate transhumanist and rationalist concepts, each ending with a moral lesson related to these philosophies. Longer summary

Scott Alexander presents a series of reimagined fairy tales with transhumanist and rationalist morals. Each story is a twist on a classic tale, concluding with a lesson related to concepts like exponential growth, decision theory, artificial intelligence risks, and self-modification. The stories are brief and satirical, using familiar narratives to illustrate complex ideas from rationalist and transhumanist thought. Shorter summary