LessWrong

LessWrong
Web address LessWrong.com
Slogan A community blog devoted to refining the art of human rationality
Type of site
 Internet forum, blog
Registration Optional, but is required for contributing content
Available in English
Written in Python, JavaScript, CSS (powered by Reddit source code)
Created by Eliezer Yudkowsky
Launched February 1, 2009 (2009-02-01)
Alexa rank
 53,215 (February 2015)[1]
Current status Active

LessWrong, also written as Less Wrong, is a community blog and forum focused on discussion of cognitive biases, philosophy, psychology, economics, rationality, and artificial intelligence, among other topics.[2][3] Its administrative costs are supported by the Machine Intelligence Research Institute and the Center for Applied Rationality at Berkeley, and by the Oxford-based Future of Humanity Institute.[4]

History

According to the LessWrong FAQ,[5] the site developed out of Overcoming Bias, an earlier group blog focused on human rationality. Overcoming Bias originated in November 2006, with artificial intelligence (AI) theorist Eliezer Yudkowsky and economist Robin Hanson as the principal contributors. In February 2009, Yudkowsky's posts were used as the seed material to create the community blog LessWrong, and Overcoming Bias became Hanson's personal blog.

LessWrong has been closely associated with the effective altruism movement.[6] Effective-altruism-focused charity evaluator GiveWell has benefited from outreach to LessWrong.[7]

Roko's basilisk

In July 2010, LessWrong contributor Roko posted a thought experiment to the site in which an otherwise benevolent future AI system tortures anyone who does not work to bring the system into existence. This idea came to be known as "Roko's basilisk," based on Roko's idea that merely hearing about the idea would give the hypothetical AI system stronger incentives to employ blackmail. Yudkowsky deleted Roko's posts on the topic, later writing that he did so because, according to him, although Roko's reasoning was mistaken, the topic shouldn't be publicly discussed in case some version of the argument could be made to work.[8] Discussion of Roko's basilisk was banned on LessWrong for several years thereafter.[9][10] The site ban on discussing Roko's basilisk was officially lifted in October 2015.[11]

Media coverage

LessWrong has been covered in Business Insider[3] and Slate.[10] Core concepts from LessWrong have been referenced in columns in The Guardian.[12][13]

LessWrong has been mentioned briefly in articles related to the technological singularity and the work of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute (formerly called the Singularity Institute).[14] It has also been mentioned in articles about online monarchists and neo-reactionaries.[15]

References

  1. ↑ "lesswrong.com Site Overview". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2015-02-17.
  2. ↑ "Less Wrong FAQ". LessWrong.
  3. 1 2 Miller, James (July 28, 2011). "You Can Learn How To Become More Rational". Business Insider. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  4. ↑ "What organizations are involved with Less Wrong? (Less Wrong FAQ)". Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Where did Less Wrong come from? (LessWrong FAQ)". Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Articles Tagged 'effective-altruism'". LessWrong.
  7. ↑ "GiveWell Metrics Report -- 2013 Annual Review" (PDF). Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  8. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/2cm2eg/rokos_basilisk/cjjbqqo
  9. ↑ Love, Dylan (6 August 2014). "WARNING: Just Reading About This Thought Experiment Could Ruin Your Life". Business Insider. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  10. 1 2 Auerbach, David (17 July 2014). "The Most Terrifying Thought Experiment of All Time". Slate. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  11. ↑ RobbBB (5 October 2015). "A few misconceptions surrounding Roko's basilisk". LessWrong. Retrieved 10 April 2016. The Roko's basilisk ban isn't in effect anymore
  12. ↑ Burkeman, Oliver (July 8, 2011). "This column will change your life: Feel the ugh and do it anyway. Can the psychological flinch mechanism be beaten?". The Guardian. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  13. ↑ Burkeman, Oliver (March 9, 2012). "This column will change your life: asked a tricky question? Answer an easier one. We all do it, all the time. So how can we get rid of this eccentricity?". The Guardian. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  14. ↑ Tiku, Natasha (July 25, 2012). "Faith, Hope, and Singularity: Entering the Matrix with New York's Futurist Set. It's the end of the world as we know it, and they feel fine.". BetaBeat. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  15. ↑ Finley, Klint (November 22, 2013). "Geeks for Monarchy: The Rise of the Neoreactionaries". TechCrunch. Retrieved March 25, 2014.

External links

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