Three Laws Of Eliezer
- Do not destroy humankind, nor through inaction permit humankind to be destroyed.
- Prevent individual minds from being destroyed except where this would conflict with the First Law.
- Break the smog of suffering over Earth except where this would conflict with the First or Second Laws.
Presumably you're not using Fukuyama's bioconservative definition of 'humankind'. Plus in the past you have stated a willingness to allow people to sacrifice their own lives in order to mitigate great suffering; are you now disallowing this? - Starglider
Mmm, usually Eliezer signs these things. I rather suspect this isn't actually The Eliezer, merely something put up by a member of his rapidly expanding fanbase. Of course, in case it is, I have to also note, pedantically, that this ruleset is incoherent for most values of 'humankind being destroyed'. You'd need a lot of distinctions to even get a course of action out of that. Justin Corwin
Hence the phrase "humankind" rather than "human".
One human life in return for alleviating great present-day suffering, but not saving any lives, is probably a poor trade. How many years of potential happiness are lost? Almost always suffering has a cost in lives, so it's pragmatically a pointless question.
