From the New World Roko Mijic: Defects, Defection, and the Future of Governance
Feb 13, 2023
Roko Mijic, Rationalist and inventor of 'Roko's Basilisk,' discusses rationality, signaling, lockdowns, selection effects, feminism, housing, crypto, and elite theory. The podcast delves into the conflict between rationalists and Wokism, exploring truth-seeking movements, societal challenges, governance systems, DAOs, Urbit, cryptocurrency, and future implications on governance and AI development.
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Rationality As Correspondence-To-Truth
- Rationality aims to align beliefs with reality using correspondence-style truth, not social incentives or feelings.
- Founders like Yudkowsky, Hanson, and Bostrom built it to correct cascades where social signaling overrides evidence.
Signalling Drives Preference Cascades
- Social signaling creates cascades where people state preferences to gain status, not because they believe them.
- Those cascades produce large civilizational shifts when intermediates conform to visible norms instead of truth.
EA's 'Kathy' Accusations And Fallout
- Roko recounts the effective altruism harassment episode where a serial accuser named Kathy alleged minor sexual misconduct against many men.
- Her campaign targeted prominent rationalists and EA figures, illustrating how social scandals reshaped communities.