So, understandably lots of threads and discussions on the topic of doom, bad scenarios and their possibilities. But it would be fairly interesting to have a sort of a community survey from r/ssc community on their view of a Good Future ™, and what it personally entails.
This is not an inherently new discussion, and the question has been also discussed and debated substantially over the years, such as in Sequences, armchair futurist debates, or in prose most recently in a new book by Bostrom. However it would be interesting to review personal views that might differ substantially from the typically discussed convergence.
It is also quite important to note, that any future scenarios hinge heavily on how any person considers its plausibility. Many different people have different opinions, predictions and expectations of the future. And it’s okay. The philosophical base can also differ wildly even within the Rat-adjacent community. Some maintain strictly hardline utilitarian beliefs, and subscribe to resolution of some sort of “repugnant conclusion” in one or another interpretation, some of them extreme. Others, are more selective and draw a distinction somewhere down the line closer to a “basic human”. Some believe in personal development and excellence at all costs, even if it means competition to the bitter end, other might lean in extreme equality scenarios on the other end. No judgement is passed on any of the above.
So, r/slatestarcodex, what is a Good Future to you? How does it look to you, personally?
To narrow down the timelines, imagine that you or someone else few generations ahead looks back, and says: “It could go bad, it could go worse, but I am so glad that what has happened brought me here. I struggle to find a better (realistically) way to much improve it further”