Thanks! Re: mental manipulation, do you have similar worries even granted that you’ve already been being manipulated in these ways? We can stipulate that there won’t be any increase in the manipulation in question, if you stay. One analogy might be: extreme cognitive biases that you’ve had all along. They just happen to be machine-imposed.
That said, I don’t think this part is strictly necessary for the thought experiment, so I’m fine with folks leaving it out if it trips them up.
Yes, I think I still have these concerns; if I had extreme cognitive biases all along, then I would want them removed even if it didn’t improve my understanding of the world. It feels similar to if you told me that I’d lived my whole life in a (pleasant) dreamlike fog, and I had the opportunity to wake up. Perhaps this is the same instinct that motivates meditation? I’m not sure.
Thanks! Re: mental manipulation, do you have similar worries even granted that you’ve already been being manipulated in these ways? We can stipulate that there won’t be any increase in the manipulation in question, if you stay. One analogy might be: extreme cognitive biases that you’ve had all along. They just happen to be machine-imposed.
That said, I don’t think this part is strictly necessary for the thought experiment, so I’m fine with folks leaving it out if it trips them up.
Yes, I think I still have these concerns; if I had extreme cognitive biases all along, then I would want them removed even if it didn’t improve my understanding of the world. It feels similar to if you told me that I’d lived my whole life in a (pleasant) dreamlike fog, and I had the opportunity to wake up. Perhaps this is the same instinct that motivates meditation? I’m not sure.