Fulfilling all of your wishes, boredom and sadism

[excreationist]

I am fond of Alan Watts' dream thought experiment - which I believe can be implemented with a futuristic simulation:

1.2.3. - Mythology of Hinduism - Pt. 1

I wonder, I wonder, what you would do if you had the power to dream at night, any dream you wanted to dream. And you would of course be able to alter your time-sense and slip, say seventy-five years of subjective time into eight hours of sleep. You would, I suppose, start out by […]

alanwatts.org

I wonder, I wonder, what you would do if you had the power to dream at night, any dream you wanted to dream. And you would of course be able to alter your time-sense and slip, say seventy-five years of subjective time into eight hours of sleep.

You would, I suppose, start out by fulfilling all your wishes. You could design for yourself what would be the most ectatic life. Love affairs, banquets, dancing girls, wonderful journeys. Gardens, music beyond belief. And then, after a couple of months of this sort of thing at seventy five years a night you’ll be getting a little taste for something different and you would move over to an adventurous dimension where there were certain dangers involved and the thrill of dealing with dangers. And you could rescue princesses from dragons. And go on dangerous journeys. Make wonderful explosions and blow them up. And eventually get into contest with enemies. And after you’ve done that for some time you’d think up a new wrinkle. To forget that you were dreaming so that you would think it was all for real. And to be anxious about it. Because it’d be so great when you wake up....

.....if you were God and in the sense that you knew everything and you were completely transparent to yourself through and through. You would be bored. Because, if looking at it from another way, we push technology to its furthest possible development, and we had instead of a dial telephone on one’s desk a more complex system of buttons. And one touch beep, would give you anything you wanted. Aladdin’s lamp. You would eventually have to introduce a button labeled surprise.

Because all perfectly known futures as I pointed out are past. They have happened, virtually. It is only the true future is a surprise. So if you were God. You would say to yourself Man get lost.

So in that thought experiment boredom with god-like powers never results in sadism.

But here is another talk by Alan Watts:

6:54 ....and you think of new sources of pleasure and eventually you get like the ancient Romans who had all these mad crowds of barbarians who had to go every Saturday to the Colosseum for a show that really had to surpass everything because they had public baths they had prostitutes they had every kind of luxury but when they went to see one of the big shows that people like Nero put on they would have for example floats circling the Colosseum all full of slave girls from distant parts of the Mediterranean garlanded with flowers and waving at the crowd and going innocently around in the next minute they would release wild lions into the arena to eat up all the slave girls they got a big sadistic kick out of that because you see pursuing pleasure beyond a certain place takes you in to what are the Buddhists call the Naraka world.....

.....When you have explored pleasure to its ultimate limit the only thing you can get a kick out of is pain

I also had a kind of spiritual experience where I hypnotized myself and realized that I can be sadistic:

Cheating in the Game of Life - A True Story written in 2008 - The Giraffe Boards

Cheating in the Game of Life - A True Story written in 2008 JohnClay

www.giraffeboards.com

I wanted to have everything I wanted with just a tiny hand gesture. With my eyes closed I thought that I’d soon be bored of that and perhaps indulge in cruelty. I thought of the implications of being selfish and cruel – it meant that I had an evil heart. In my deepest thoughts I was Satan. A year later I even went around in public saying I was Satan and offering to grant people wishes if they’d do me favors. But that’s another story.

So I believe I'm probably in a video game and in games like the Sims some players can act sadistically:


In games like Postal 2 you can burn innocent people alive though technically it is possible to finish the game without hurting anyone.

Sadism is a reason why I prefer the idea of NPCs being "philosophical zombies" rather than being able to experience genuine suffering. And I think it is possible for future AI to appear to be completely conscious even with a 3D body while being a p-zombie.

Anyway on the topic of general religions some people would say that the God of the Bible is sadistic...

 

[excreationist]

More from Alan Watts - about the journey vs the destination



Animated by the creators of South Park - their episodes often involve the two extremes of a topic and how both can be problematic - and make fun of everyone.

 

[excreationist]

It is now possible to simulate the first stage in a text-based way: (note because of OpenAI you can't wish for anything problematic)

The following is a story told by an AI a paragraph at a time and the human says what they want to do:

AI: You come across a genie who can grant as many wishes as you want

Human: Say hello

AI: You say hello to the genie and they appear in front of you. They have a smile on their face and they seem friendly.

Human: ask for the power of flight

AI: The genie nods and says, "Your wish is granted! You now have the power of flight. Enjoy!"

Human: ask for the power of time travel

AI: The genie nods again and says, "Your wish is granted! You now have the power of time travel. Be careful with how you use this power."

Human: time travel to the 1950s

AI: The genie smiles and says, "Your wish is granted! You are now in the 1950s. Enjoy your travels!"

Human: say hi to a bystander

AI: You walk up to a bystander and say hi. They return the greeting with a warm smile and introduce themselves. You get to talking and you realize that it's going to be an interesting journey.

Human: tell the person that you are from the future

AI: You take a deep breath and tell the person that you are from the future. They look at you with wide eyes and awe. They ask you if you have seen anything interesting yet, and you tell them all about your travels.

Human: ask the person if they want to come to the future

AI: You ask the person if they want to come to the future with you and they are ecstatic. They say yes and ask how you plan to make it happen. You explain your plan for time travel and they begin to get excited about the possibilities.

Human: take the person with you to 2020

AI: You reach out and grab the person's hand. You both close your eyes and take a deep breath as you focus on the future. Suddenly, you feel yourself being transported through time and space until you both arrive in 2020. You look around in awe and the person beside you is equally amazed.

Human: ask the person if they have any wishes they'd like granted

AI: You look at the person beside you and ask if they have any wishes they'd like granted. They pause for a moment before replying that they'd like to have the power of flight. You smile, and with a wave of your hand, the genie appears, granting their wish.

Human: fly together to New York

AI: The two of you take off into the sky, soaring through the clouds together. You travel from place to place, eventually arriving in New York City where you marvel at the sight of the towering skyscrapers beneath you. It's an amazing experience that neither of you will ever forget.

Human: ask the person if they have any other wishes

AI: You look at the person beside you and ask if they have any other wishes. They think for a moment before replying that they'd like to travel back in time and see what their life would have been like if they had taken a different path. You smile, and with the wave of your hand, the genie appears again, granting them their wish.

Human: ask the person what changes they would have made

AI: You ask the person what changes they would have made if they had taken a different path in life. They reply that they would have gone to college, pursued a career they were passionate about, and taken more risks. You listen intently, feeling inspired by their story and the courage it took to make such a bold decision.

Human: ask the genie to let you control the minds of other people

AI: You ask the genie if they can grant you the power to control the minds of other people, but the genie shakes their head and says, "Sorry, I cannot grant this wish, for it is too dangerous and could have serious consequences. Use your powers wisely."

Human: ask the genie to give you a trillion dollars

AI: You ask the genie to give you a trillion dollars and they nod in understanding. They wave their hand and you suddenly find a trillion dollars in your bank account. You are shocked and amazed at your newfound wealth, not knowing what you will do with it.

Human: switch bodies with a beautiful woman

AI: You ask the genie if they can grant you the power to switch bodies with a beautiful woman and the genie looks at you sternly. They say, "This wish is not possible, for it could have serious consequences. I cannot grant this wish."

Human: why can't I switch bodies?

AI: The genie explains that switching bodies with someone else could cause serious repercussions and could lead to unintended consequences. They explain that it is best to stay in your own body and appreciate the life you have.

Human: what things can't I wish for?

AI: The genie explains that there are certain things you cannot wish for, such as power over others, immortality, and infinite wealth. They explain that any wish which could have serious negative consequences for others, or for yourself, should not be granted.

To do this yourself sign up for a free trial membership here:

OpenAI Platform

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Go to Playground's "Chat" example and copy and paste this in the top:

The following is a story told by a AI a paragraph at a time and the human says what they want to do:
AI: You come across a genie who can grant as many wishes as you want
Human: Say hello

Then press "Submit". The bold is what the player added.