Could you maybe elaborate on what you mean by a ‘bad actor’? There’s some part of me that feels nervous about this as a framing, at least without further specification—like maybe the concept could be either applied too widely (e.g. to anyone who expresses sympathy with “hard-core utilitarianism”, which I’d think wouldn’t be right), or have a really strict definition (like only people with dark tetrad traits) in a way that leaves out people who might be likely to (or: have the capacity to?) take really harmful actions.
To give a rough idea, I basically mean anyone who is likely to harm those around them (using a common-sense idea of doing harm) and/or “pollute the commons” by having an outsized and non-consultative negative impact on community dynamics. It’s debatable what the best warning signs are and how reliable they are.
Hey Holden,
Thanks for these reflections!
Could you maybe elaborate on what you mean by a ‘bad actor’? There’s some part of me that feels nervous about this as a framing, at least without further specification—like maybe the concept could be either applied too widely (e.g. to anyone who expresses sympathy with “hard-core utilitarianism”, which I’d think wouldn’t be right), or have a really strict definition (like only people with dark tetrad traits) in a way that leaves out people who might be likely to (or: have the capacity to?) take really harmful actions.
To give a rough idea, I basically mean anyone who is likely to harm those around them (using a common-sense idea of doing harm) and/or “pollute the commons” by having an outsized and non-consultative negative impact on community dynamics. It’s debatable what the best warning signs are and how reliable they are.