by Daniel Kokotajlo, 15 June 2021
Plan
1. Try to write plausible future histories of the world, focusing on AI-relevant features. (“Vignettes.”)
2. Read each others’ vignettes and critique the implausible bits: “Wouldn’t the US government do something at that point?” “You say twenty nations promise each other not to build agent AI–could you say more about why and how?”
3. Amend and repeat.
4. Better understand your own views about how the development of advanced AI may go down.
(5. Maybe add your vignette to our collection.)
This event will happen over two days, so you can come Friday if this counts as work for you, Saturday if it counts as play, and both if you are keen. RSVP to particular days is somewhat helpful; let us know in the comments.
Date, Time, Location
The event will happen on Friday the 25th of June and Saturday the 26th.
It’ll go from 10am (California time) until probably around 4pm both days.
It will take place online, in the LessWrong Walled Garden. Here are the links to attend:
Friday
Saturday
FAQ
> Do I need literary merit or creativity?
No.
> Do I need to have realistic views about the future?
No, the idea is to get down what you have and improve it.
> Do I need to write stories?
Nah, you can just critique them if you want.
> What will this actually look like?
We’ll meet up online, discuss the project and answer questions, and then spend chunks of time (online or offline) writing and/or critiquing vignettes, interspersed with chatting together.
> Have you done this before? Can I see examples?
Yes, on a small scale. See here for some resulting vignettes. We thought it was fun and interesting.
This event is co-organized by Katja Grace and Daniel Kokotajlo. Thanks to everyone who participated in the trial Vignettes Day months ago. Thanks to John Salvatier for giving us the idea.
