And apparently, one of their FOUNDING BELIEFS, is that I had sex with somebody underage (mutually desired sex, according to the Zizians)... and then MIRI, a nonprofit I started, paid money (to a third-party extorter) to hush that up... which payment, according to the Zizians, is in violation of DECISION THEORY... and, therefore, for THAT EXACT REASON (like specifically the decision theory part), everything believed by those normie rationalists who once befriended them is IRRETRIEVABLY TAINTED... and therefore, the whole world is a lie and dishonest... and from this and OTHER PREMISES they recruit people to join their cult.

Yudkowsky is the first person I have ever seen describe this as a load-bearing belief of the Zizians. Offhand, I don't recall the news stories about the murders even mentioning it.

this review has a number of issues

For example, it doesn't even get through the subhead before calling Yud an "AI researcher".

All three of these movements [Bay Area rationalists, "AI safety" and Effective Altruists] attempt to derive their way of viewing the world from first principles, applying logic and evidence to determine the best ways of being.

Sure, Jan.

There's just something so ... basic about HPMOR. Oh, so you wrote a Harry Potter story? Targeted at emotionally vulnerable neurodivergent young people? That's playing fanfiction on easy mode. Meanwhile, people are out there inventing a whole sui generis fandom about humanity being force-femmed by communist space plants. I don't understand it, but (stirring brass band) by Gad, I respect it.

You thought water was great, but have you tried H~2~O~2~?

"Specialist terminology" like... the word edit?

Not sure writing an encyclopedia is a good hobby for you, bro.

For background reading, see here and here.

The failure mode of clever continues to be asshole.

I suspect that this is less about using language with which one's audience is familiar to convey a message accurately, and more about making the message sound obviously right and affirming the smartness of the audience because Computer Words.

First woks, now flour sifters? What is the man's obsession with kitchen implements?!!!

split screen between "how to win the culture race" and "a short story about sex tourism in the Philippines"

I think of myself as playing the role of a wise old mentor who has had lots of experience, telling stories to the young adventurers, trying to toughen them up, somewhat similar to how Prof Quirrell[8] toughens up the students in HPMOR through teaching them Defense Against the Dark Arts

[8] Note that during our conversation, Emerson brought up HPMOR and the Quirrell similarity, not me.

epistemic status: jesus fucking christ, what is your major malfunction?!

I would also tell them that it’s possible to actually understand things.

The most perfect set-up to date for a joke about how the Thing Understander has logged on