The utilitarianism fight: utility functions can't be made operational, argues Perry Metzger
perrymetzger · x · 2026-09-20
In a debate sparked over weighing non-human suffering, perry metzger argues "how do we measure" is the core problem with utilitarianism: utility functions are inherently arbitrary, subjective, poorly chosen, and cannot be made operational — and consistently following them inevitably leads to monstrous outcomes.
More from AGI Musings
- Andreessen: Agents Are Entering Enterprises as Chaos, Just Like PCs and Spreadsheets Did — Dan_Jeffries1 · 2026-11-04
- 1000+ mathematicians sign pledge to shun AI companies and models — Shesawthat · 2026-11-04
- Von Neumann meme: "You don't have to be responsible for the world that you're in" — akbirthko · 2026-11-04
- Joscha Bach on the dream chocolate that stopped being real — Machine Learning Street Talk · 2026-11-04
- François Chollet: modeling brain wiring as an engineering problem constrained by genome size and time — CatAstro_Piyush · 2026-11-04
- Most US Couples Now Meet in a Data Centre, Doubling Office Matches — menhguin · 2026-11-04