The Bayesian Conspiracy

Join me as I sit down with Alex and David, both previous guests on the show and both cofounders of the Guild of the Rose. Together, we go over the core – the heart – of what we consider to be the Rationalist tradition. The 12 Virtues are an awesome distillation of what the rest of the sequences build on. Be sure to check out the Guild of the Rose. If our constantly pitching it to you hasn’t been enough to persuade you to check it out, hopefully hearing two more of the founders discuss Rationality in general and giving their own pitches for the Guild will tip the scales. LINKS The Twelve Virtues Abridged Version Alex and David have been on more than a couple of times, but I’ll limit myself to one episode from each of them 189 – AI Bloomer David Youssef 192 – Absurdism and the Meaning of Life, with Alex And the episode with both of them, the original announcement for the Guild Also, Alex’s dating profile! In all sincerity, I’d date him if I was a woman. 00:00:05 – Introduction and The 12 Virtues 01:41:50 – Guild of the Rose Our Patreon, or if you prefer Our SubStack Hey look, we have a discord! What could possibly go wrong? (also merch) We now partner with The Guild of the Rose, check them out. LessWrong Sequence Posts Discussed in this Episode: on hiatus, returning soon

Matt Freeman has been cohosting several media analysis podcasts for over a decade. He and his cohost Scott have been doing weekly episodes of the Doofcast every Friday and they cover movies, books, and TV shows. Matt and Scott’s analysis podcasts have made me love stories even more and have equipped me with tools to enhance my ability to think more deeply about the stories I consume and enjoy them even more. My hope is that this meta-conversation will encourage anyone who hasn’t listened to the Doofcast or anything else Doof! Media has put out to give it a shot and see what you’ve been missing out on. Unfortunately, we were unable to coordinate a time for Matt’s cohost Scott to join us so hopefully I did an ok job making this entertaining and fun with only one expert guest. Shoutout to Skyler Crossman, the Less Wrong community organizer extraordinaire! LINKS Doof! Media, the home of Matt’s other podcasts! The Magnus Archives Bob Ross on AI Slop East Coast Mega Meetup 00:00:05 – Diving into stories 01:47:42 – Interlude with Eneasz about the East Coast Mega Meetup! 01:52:31 – Guild of the Rose Our Patreon, or if you prefer Our SubStack Hey look, we have a discord! What could possibly go wrong? (also merch) We now partner with The Guild of the Rose, check them out. LessWrong Sequence Posts Discussed in this Episode: on hiatus, returning soon

Booker is a long-time attendee and one of the coordinators of the Denver area Less Wrong community. Community engagement isn’t just a background task for him – he’s taken real steps to get involved with and improve his community and you can too! He’s here to tell us about the things he’s done and give some guidance on how you all can get involved and help make your community more like the place you’d want to live. Colorado Reagan Club An article he wrote making the case why you should join An article about Vacancy Committees

While Eneasz is busy at InkHaven, Steven sits down with Matt Freeman to talk about not-AI stuff! We had (in my opinion) a great conversation about stoic philosophy, the traps of getting too entrenched in any philosophical framework, and some of the ingredients of a happy life. LINKS It’s Okay to Feel Bad for a Bit Doof! Media, the home of Matt’s other podcasts! Flanagan’s Wake 00:00:05 – Matt Freeman 01:55:23 – Guild of the Rose Our Patreon, or if you prefer Our SubStack Hey look, we have a discord! What could possibly go wrong? (also merch) We now partner with The Guild of the Rose, check them out. LessWrong Sequence Posts Discussed in this Episode: on hiatus, returning soon

We talk with Max Harms on the air for the first time since 2017! He’s got a new book coming out (pre-order your copy here or at Amazon) and we spend about the first half talking about If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies. LINKS Max’s first book, Crystal Society Eneasz’s audiobook of about the first two thirds of the first book And the official audiobooks page Flash fiction contest that Eneasz mentioned Max’s post on Anthropic Reasoning Red Heart If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies 00:00:05 – Max Harms 01:28:53 – Guild of the Rose 01:31:00 – Miscellanea 01:40:58 – Thank the Supporter! Our Patreon, or if you prefer Our SubStack Hey look, we have a discord! What could possibly go wrong? We now partner with The Guild of the Rose, check them out. LessWrong Sequence Posts Discussed in this Episode: on hiatus, returning soon

Jay talks with us about finding Alpha – returns above the base rate – in every day life (and what this means). LINKS Optimize Everything, Jay’s substack Jay on Twitter Arbor Trading Bootcamp Kelsey’s argument that We Need To Be Able To Sue AI Companies 00:00:05 – Alpha with Jay 01:28:53 – Guild of the Rose 01:31:00 – Miscellanea 01:40:58 – Thank the Supporter! Our Patreon, or if you prefer Our SubStack Hey look, we have a discord! What could possibly go wrong? We now partner with The Guild of the Rose, check them out. LessWrong Sequence Posts Discussed in this Episode: on hiatus, returning soon

We continue discussing Nostalgebraist’s “The Void” in the context of how to relate to LLMs. If God imagines Claude hard enough, does Claude become real? LINKS The Void Audio reading of The Void, from AskWho The referenced episode where the three of us spoke of Janus’s post “Simulators” Claude-Clark post – Simulacra Welfare: Meet Clark, by Grace Kind Golden Gate Claude Vox on Shrimp Welfare Kelsey Piper on UBI not helping Americans Eneasz story collection “Dear Grom” and his novel “What Lies Dreaming” Paid Bonus content for the week – The lads get sniped by DoofMovies.com (patreon, substack) 00:00:05 – The Void 01:32:08 – Guild of the Rose 01:35:41 – Miscellanea 01:41:45 – Thank the Supporter! Our Patreon, or if you prefer Our SubStack Hey look, we have a discord! What could possibly go wrong? We now partner with The Guild of the Rose, check them out. LessWrong Sequence Posts Discussed in this Episode: on hiatus, returning soon

In this engaging discussion, Matt Freeman, a founder of The Guild of the Rose and a frequent commentator on AI, dives into thought-provoking themes from Nostalgebraist’s "The Void." They contemplate the nature of conversations with AI like ChatGPT, questioning who, or what, we’re really engaging with. The conversation also touches on the ethics and consciousness of AI, exploring the emotional resonance of language models versus human experiences, and the philosophical implications of AI interactions. Expect a blend of humor, deep insights, and a sprinkle of anime influence!

Audio reading of The Void, from AskWho

Do we need to be concerned for the welfare of AIs today? What about the near future? Eleos AI Research is asking exactly that. LINKS Eleos AI Research People for the Ethical Treatment of Reinforcement Learners Bees Can’t Suffer? Lena, by qntm When AI Seems Conscious Experience Machines, Rob’s substack The War on General Computation WaPo on Blake Lemoine Discordianism Twitter for: Eleos, Rob Long, Rosie Campbell Apply for InkHaven 00:00:05 – AI Welfare 01:22:33 – InkHaven 01:27:49 – Guild of the Rose 01:31:55 – Thank the Supporter! Our Patreon, or if you prefer Our SubStack Hey look, we have a discord! What could possibly go wrong? We now partner with The Guild of the Rose, check them out. LessWrong Sequence Posts Discussed in this Episode: on hiatus, returning this summer