Mar 30, 2023
https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/turing-test
The year is 2028, and this is Turing Test!, the game show that separates man from machine! Our star tonight is Dr. Andrea Mann, a generative linguist at University of California, Berkeley. She’ll face five hidden contestants, code-named Earth, Water, Air, Fire, and...
Mar 25, 2023
https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/half-an-hour-before-dawn-in-san-francisco
I try to avoid San Francisco. When I go, I surround myself with people; otherwise I have morbid thoughts. But a morning appointment and miscalculated transit time find me alone on the SF streets half an hour before dawn.
The skyscrapers get...
Mar 25, 2023
https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/why-do-transgender-people-report
[Related: Why Are Transgender People Immune To Optical Illusions?]
I.
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is a category of connective tissue disorder; it usually involves stretchy skin and loose, hypermobile joints.
For a few years now, doctors who work with...
Mar 25, 2023
https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/why-i-am-not-as-much-of-a-doomer
(see also Katja Grace and Will Eden’s related cases)
The average online debate about AI pits someone who thinks the risk is zero, versus someone who thinks it’s any other number. I agree these are the most...
Mar 25, 2023
https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/links-for-march-2023
[Remember, I haven’t independently verified each link. On average, commenters will end up spotting evidence that around two or three of the links in each links post are wrong or misleading. I correct these as I see them, and will highlight...