Poorly-Scoped Definitions Don't Block Regulation: Lessons from Drugs and Nuclear
davidmanheim · x · 2026-09-16
davidmanheim pushes back on the claim that vague definitions make regulation impossible: countries can absolutely regulate poorly-scoped things.
- Illegal drug laws keep getting redefined to cover new designer drugs;
- Nuclear power is partly regulated by restricting everything radioactive or fissile, whether or not it truly is — which is smart anyway.
He concedes precise, measurable definitions are better, but doesn't see why their absence should be a knock-down argument against doing anything.
Related event: Manheim: define before measuring—AGI debate will be moot within two years(7 posts)→
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