Why FDT is hard: Newcomb variants where the agent simulates a weaker predictor

jessi_cata · x · 2026-10-05

Continuing the "Agent Simulates Predictor" thread: the author argues the problem captures what makes FDT-style theories hard. In ordinary Newcomb, where the predictor simulates you, a CDT computational functionalist can reason "I might be in a simulation, and if I am, it is causally important that I one-box" — but the picture blurs when a smarter agent simulates a weaker predictor.

Related event: Debate Rekindled Over Decision Theory When Agents Simulate Predictors(4 posts)→

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