Software for Moral Enhancement
An algorithm will never slip up in a weak moment. What if we could identify when we are likely to make mistakes, figure out what we’d want to do instead, and then outsource our decisions to a reliable algorithm? In what ways could we use software to make ourselves into better people?
Read MoreSydämeni on vasemmalla, aivoni eivät tiedä missä olisivat
Jos minulta kysyttäisiin olenko oikealla vai vasemmalla, en osaisi vastata. Tai ainakaan en osaisi tiivistää vastaustani pariin sanaan. Pohjimmaisia arvojani voi pitää suhteellisen vasemmistolaisina. Minusta valtion tehtävänä on luoda tilanne, jossa mahdollisimman moni yhteiskunnan jäsen voi mahdollisimman hyvin. Pidän vapautta tärkeänä, mutta pohjimmiltaan kuitenkin välinearvona....
Read MoreTeaching Bayesian networks by means of social scheming, or, why edugames don’t have to suck
As a part of my Master’s thesis in Computer Science, I am designing a game which seeks to teach its players a subfield of math known as Bayesian networks, hopefully in a fun and enjoyable way. This post explains some of the basic design and educational philosophy behind the game, and will hopefully also convince you that educational games don’t have to suck. I will start by discussing a...
Read MoreTeaching economics & ethics with Kitty Powers’ Matchmaker
Unusual ways to teach economics. I’m currently playing Kitty Powers’ Matchmaker, a silly but fun little game in which you run a dating agency and try to get your clients on successful dates and, eventually, into a successful relationship. Now one way of playing this would be to just prioritize the benefit of each client, trying to get them in maximally satisfying relationships as fast...
Read MoreTechnology will destroy human nature
Human values, and human nature, are grounded in various constraints that keep us stuck in a relatively narrow space of possibilities. Once those constraints are relaxed, it seems likely that humanity will cease to exist.
Read MoreThings are allowed to be good and bad at the same time
I’ve found it useful to sometimes remind myself that things are allowed to be good and bad at the same time. Suppose that there was a particular job that I wanted but didn’t get. Afterwards, I find myself thinking: “Damnit, some of the stuff in that job would have been so cool.” “But the commute would have killed me, it wouldn’t have been a good fit for me...
Read MoreThoughts on moral intuitions
Our moral reasoning is ultimately grounded in our moral intuitions: instinctive “black box” judgements of what is right and wrong. For example, most people would think that needlessly hurting somebody else is wrong, just because. The claim doesn’t need further elaboration, and in fact the reasons for it can’t be explained, though people can and do construct elaborate...
Read MoreTowards meaningfully gamifying Bayesian Networks, or, just what can you do with them
In my previous article, I argued that educational games could be good if they implemented their educational content in a meaningful way. This means making the player actually use the educational material to predict the possible consequences of different choices within the game, in such a manner that the choices will have both short- and long-term consequences. More specifically, I talked about my...
Read MoreUnwitting cult leaders
An insight that I’d kind of already had, but which this interview with Michael Taft (relevant section starts at about 32 minutes) helped crystallize: We tend to think of a “cult leader” as someone who intentionally sets out to create a cult. But most cult-like things probably don’t form like that. A lot of people feel a strong innate desire to be in a cult. In the podcast,...
Read MoreVapauden hintana on ikuinen valppaus
Demokratian suurin ongelma ja etu on, että päätökset tehdään enemmistön halun mukaan. Se johtaa sekä epäreiluun päätöksentekoon ja eturyhmien suosimiseen, että vääryyksien välttämiseen ja asioiden paranemiseen. Asiat voivat mennä parempaan suuntaan, mutta se vaatii jatkuvaa työtä niiden eteen. Kuvitellaan, että ison valtatien varrella asuu sata maanviljelijää. Valtatieltä...
Read MoreVideogames will revolutionize school (not necessarily the way you think)
A lot of the hype around educational games centers around "gamification", and using game techniques to make the boring drilling of facts into something more fun. Which would be a definite improvement, but I don't think that it's ambitious enough.
Read MoreViisi ainetta, jotka toisin peruskouluun
Nykymuotoinen koulu ei opeta elämässä oikeasti tarvittavia taitoja. Merkittävän osan siitä, mitä olen oppinut ja josta minulle on ollut todellista hyötyä elämässä, olen oppinut koulun ulkopuolella törmättyäni siihen sattumalta. Sen sijaan lukuisat oppitunnit peruskoulussa ja lukiossa opettivat hyvin vähän hyödyllistä, etenkin niihin käytettyyn aikaan nähden. Käytännössä...
Read MoreWhy care about artificial intelligence?
So, AI might be developed within our lifetime, but why should anybody care? True artificial intelligence might actually be the number one thing in the world you should care about.
Read MoreWhy I’m considering a career in educational games
Given enough time, we could replace our whole educational system with almost nothing but games.
Read MoreYrittäjyys ja asenteet
Yksi asenne, jota näkee Piilaakso-henkisessä startup-kulttuurissa paljon ja jonka mielelläni näkisin leviävän Suomeenkin, on suhtautuminen yrittäjyyteen likipitäen altruistisena toimintana. Tuossa kulttuurissa yrittäjä on ihminen, joka löytää uuden tavan parantaa muiden elämää, ja toteuttaa sen. Olen lukennut tuosta kulttuurista tulevia “miten ryhtyä...
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This work by Kaj Sotala is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
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