Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg

Dealing with our "groupstruckness" and "boundedness" (with Katja Grace)

May 18, 2022

In this discussion, Katja Grace, a blogger and researcher specializing in group dynamics and AI safety, dives into the concept of being 'groupstruck' and how social pressures distort individual decision-making, especially during crises like the pandemic. She explores the delicate balance of conformity and personal judgment, offering insights on navigating group dynamics and fostering genuine relationships. Additionally, Grace critiques traditional decision-making models, emphasizes the value of qualitative factors, and introduces strategies for improved personal growth and decision-making.

01:06:38

Creator website

Episode guests

Katja Grace

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

2min

Navigating Social Pressures During the Pandemic

2min

The Psychology of Conformity and Social Pressure

12min

Navigating Group Dynamics

10min

Navigating Relationships and Existential Risks with Straightforwardness

2min

Bounded Decision-Making

4min

Navigating Decision-Making: Insights and Strategies

14min

Evaluating Life Decisions: Heuristics and Strategies

2min

The Limits of Quantitative Metrics

6min

10.

The Complexity of Connection: Balancing Worth and Measurement

19min

11.

Exploring the Journey of Philosophical Thought

2min

Read the full transcript here.

What does it mean to be "groupstruck"? How does groupstruck-ness differ from the bystander effect, normalcy bias, and other related cognitive biases? How do we break people out of being groupstruck? What does it mean to be a "bounded" person? How can we build up better decision-making heuristics? What sorts of decisions do people usually not quantify but should (and vice versa)? How can we make rational relationship decisions without coming across as "calculating" or cold? How does anthropic reasoning affect our hypotheses about the nature of the universe and life within it (i.e., the Fermi paradox, the simulation hypothesis, etc.)?

Katja Grace is a blogger at worldspiritsockpuppet.com and researcher at aiimpacts.org. Follow her on Twitter at @KatjaGrace.

Staff

Spencer Greenberg — Host / Director
Josh Castle — Producer
Ryan Kessler — Audio Engineer
Uri Bram — Factotum
Janaisa Baril — Transcriptionist

Music

Affiliates

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