Lizka—very interesting points, and generally good advice.
This seems metaphorically related to the principle of ‘force concentration’ in warfare. Wherever one thinks the enemy is likely to be massing, it’s better to keep all of one’s forces together, and go to where one thinks they are most likely to be—rather than splitting one’s forces, which often makes the likelihood of defeat much higher, wherever they end up being. This is especially true given firearms that can engage from a distance, as described by Lanchester’s N-square law.
One caveat to add: naive readers interested in AI X-risk could misinterpret you as saying that it’s better to go full steam ahead with AI, and then reverse at full speed if we decide that’s the wrong way to proceed, rather than going more slowly & cautiously along the way. I know that’s not what you intended, but it may be worth emphasizing, as you mentioned, that ‘When speed itself is part of the problem, going “half-speed” can be totally reasonable’.
Lizka—very interesting points, and generally good advice.
This seems metaphorically related to the principle of ‘force concentration’ in warfare. Wherever one thinks the enemy is likely to be massing, it’s better to keep all of one’s forces together, and go to where one thinks they are most likely to be—rather than splitting one’s forces, which often makes the likelihood of defeat much higher, wherever they end up being. This is especially true given firearms that can engage from a distance, as described by Lanchester’s N-square law.
One caveat to add: naive readers interested in AI X-risk could misinterpret you as saying that it’s better to go full steam ahead with AI, and then reverse at full speed if we decide that’s the wrong way to proceed, rather than going more slowly & cautiously along the way. I know that’s not what you intended, but it may be worth emphasizing, as you mentioned, that ‘When speed itself is part of the problem, going “half-speed” can be totally reasonable’.
Thanks for pointing this out — I’ve made some edits in response (mostly to the very beginning of the post).