DooDiligence

A Paperclip Maximizer is a hypothetical artificial intelligence whose utility function values something that humans would consider almost worthless, like maximizing the number of paperclips in the universe. The paperclip maximizer is the canonical thought experiment showing how an artificial general intelligence, even one designed competently and without malice, could ultimately destroy humanity. The thought experiment shows that AIs with apparently innocuous values could pose an existential threat. The goal of maximizing paperclips is chosen for illustrative purposes because it is very unlikely to be implemented, and has little apparent danger or emotional load (in contrast to, for example, curing cancer or winning wars). This produces a thought experiment which shows the contingency of human values: An extremely powerful optimizer (a highly intelligent agent) could seek goals that are completely alien to ours (orthogonality thesis), and as a side-effect destroy us by consuming resources essential to our survival. www.lesswrong.com/tag/paperclip-maximizer

I added on the dip today, effectively putting the kiss of death on Softbank. www.bnnbloomberg.ca/softbank-poised-to-lose-74-billion-payday-if-arm-deal-is-halted-1.1690618 I'm not betting on the NVIDIA deal going through, but WTFK, maybe Masa will get approval by threatening to set himself on fire again? If not, he'll eventually IPO ARM Holdings and crikey, the proceeds could nearly represent the current market cap of Softbank. www.wsj.com/articles/SB106633694181524900

Omaha

My man! I added to ADSK on the dip. Not egregiously cheap but I think the market is overreacting to the new cash flow model. The business is here to stay with a ton of pirate copy users who will slowly become subscribers if they want to continue working big jobs. Hell, any jobs. Huge switching costs.

Lot's of hypocrisy on display these days. Imagine the logic behind ass blasting 300 metric tons of CO2 into the atmosphere just to send an overweight, overacting douche like Shatner in LEO. www.cnbc.com/2021/10/13/william-shatner-speech-to-jeff-bezos-after-blue-origin-launch.html

I started the “Get Shorty” episodic television series on Hulu and it’s pretty good so far. I really liked the movie with Travolta and didn’t think this would be as good but it is. This is one of those rare cases of the film / tv series being better than the book. --- edit: this is on Amazon Prime, not Hulu.

I think a lot of people have been operating under the same algorithms lately.

I love the comments: 4500 men enter. One man leaves. Thunderdorm.

Somebody should remind Chuck about this one. "Guard against the effects of hubris and boredom" Personally, I think he's lost his mind, despite the appearance of being "sharp" at AGM's. There's a fine line between sharp and smug. https://25iq.com/charlie-munger-book-to-date-chapters-1-5/

Eeek! Sounds like something the Chicom's would devise.

Sounds like your co-worker will be slaving away forever. It also appears that lenders will remain ignorant until the next doomsday & beyond. I don't need a lever to move my little world.

Behind the Scenes of Autodesk’s Culture Code www.forbes.com/sites/danpontefract/2021/10/23/behind-the-scenes-of-autodesks-culture-code/?sh=ddd0b954ac57

Rogers Chairman Fires Board for Firing Him for Firing CEO www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-10-25/rogers-chairman-fires-board-for-firing-him-for-firing-ceo

You should follow your own advice.

This is terribly distracting. Not as bad as when WEB bought into airlines but nearly so.

Agreed re: Dune, it was almost like reading Michener drone on about shifting tectonic plates for 300 pages before getting on with the story. However, Herbert did write one book that I really liked, the Godmakers. https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2013/03/30/book-review-the-god-makers-frank-herbert-1972/

Who knew that intrinsic motivation (autonomy, mastery & purpose) could be more appealing than compensation, punishment & reward?

Stephen Covey's "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" and Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People" cover most of the bases effectively. Most of the follow ons pale in comparison.

A masterpiece. I highly recommend watching The Making of the Dark Side of the Moon

That's the self help dude in a nutshell. Instant gratification from just listening to how it's done, even if the listener never fully follows through, a little bit of it sticks, and with repetition comes conditioning? Nobody's perfect, but it seems like everyone here actively practices becoming a more advanced human.

I've allowed #4 to screw me up numerous times, and am making a conscious effort now to avoid the nonsense. Stuff still leaks through but I find that I'm a crap load more blissful while concentrating on material that furthers my goals. Quite a while back, I was watching old episodes of Rowan & Martins Laugh In and noticed how they were lampooning the same set of events that are going on today. The geographies & main characters were different but the themes were the same. (Vietnam, commies with missiles in Cuba, Nixon & Watergate, healthcare, blah, blah, blah...) You can go for a month at a time and then tune in to the weekend shows (Meet the Press, Face the Nation, Alabama Political Reporter and Firing Line with Margaret Hoover [she's smart & super hot BTW], and voila, you're caught up. The only immediate hazard is inclement weather and for the most part I can get that by going outside. Send donations to...

1. Be grateful for what you have. 2. Be scrupulously honest with yourself & thread the needle between malicious deception and "no honey, you don't look fat in those jeans". 3. Set goals & be prepared to fail along the way, dust yourself off and constantly reevaluate your steps to the goal. 4. Avoid main stream television media and online social networks that resemble echo chambers. 5. Praise sparingly & publicly. Criticize directly & privately and avoid back biting. 6. Don't spend more than you make & don't commit yourself to debts for stupid shit. (See #1 for reinforcement of this concept.) There, now I'm a self help guru. Please send your generous donations to...

Wow, a Skinner box that conditions the observer!

Everybody remembers the guy who leaves it all to the world. Scott had told the Omaha World-Herald that he intended for nearly all of his personal assets to be donated to his personal foundation, which supports projects in Omaha. "My children were taken care of long ago — what they make of their lives is now their own responsibility," Scott said to the World-Herald. "Ultimately, nearly everything will go to the foundation, with the hopes it will benefit my hometown for many generations to come."

He who hasn't heard this song in their heart is lost... Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day Fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way Kicking around on a piece of ground in your hometown Waiting for someone or something to show you the way Tired of lying in the sunshine, staying home to watch the rain You are young and life is long, and there is time to kill today And then one day you find ten years have got behind you No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun And you run, and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking Racing around to come up behind you again The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older Shorter of breath and one day closer to death Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way The time is gone, the song is over, thought I'd something more to say