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MIRI Announces New 'Death With Dignity' Strategy
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3/5
Good(3)Good quality. Reputable source with community review or editorial standards, but less rigorous than peer-reviewed venues.
Rating inherited from publication venue: Alignment Forum
A notable and widely-discussed post representing a pessimistic turn in MIRI's public communications in 2022, reflecting Yudkowsky's view that the AI safety community may be losing the race against dangerous AI development.
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Importance: 72/100blog postcommentary
Summary
Eliezer Yudkowsky's April 2022 post articulating MIRI's shift toward a 'death with dignity' framing, expressing deep pessimism about humanity's ability to solve AI alignment in time, while advising against panic, deception, or abandoning integrity. The post argues that even in a near-hopeless situation, individuals should act with honesty and do what good they can.
Key Points
- •MIRI expresses serious pessimism that humanity will solve alignment before transformative AI, framing the situation as potentially existentially terminal.
- •Rejects both false optimism and panic as responses; advocates for honest, dignified conduct even under extreme uncertainty.
- •Warns against doubling down on doomed schemes just because failure means extinction anyway—epistemic integrity still matters.
- •Addresses whether speaking plainly about doom is harmful, concluding honesty is preferable to managed narratives.
- •Posted April 1st but explicitly not a joke—the FAQ format directly addresses that assumption, signaling the seriousness of the message.
Cited by 1 page
| Page | Type | Quality |
|---|---|---|
| Machine Intelligence Research Institute | Organization | 50.0 |
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[MIRI announces new "Death With Dignity" strategy](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/j9Q8bRmwCgXRYAgcJ/miri-announces-new-death-with-dignity-strategy#)
21 min read
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[Q1: Does 'dying with dignity' in this context mean accepting the certainty of your death, and not childishly regretting that or trying to fight a hopeless battle?](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/j9Q8bRmwCgXRYAgcJ/miri-announces-new-death-with-dignity-strategy#Q1___Does__dying_with_dignity__in_this_context_mean_accepting_the_certainty_of_your_death__and_not_childishly_regretting_that_or_trying_to_fight_a_hopeless_battle_)
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[Q2: I have a clever scheme for saving the world! I should act as if I believe it will work and save everyone, right, even if there's arguments that it's almost certainly misguided and doomed? Because if those arguments are correct and my scheme can't work, we're all dead anyways, right?](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/j9Q8bRmwCgXRYAgcJ/miri-announces-new-death-with-dignity-strategy#Q2___I_have_a_clever_scheme_for_saving_the_world___I_should_act_as_if_I_believe_it_will_work_and_save_everyone__right__even_if_there_s_arguments_that_it_s_almost_certainly_misguided_and_doomed___Because_if_those_arguments_are_correct_and_my_scheme_can_t_work__we_re_all_dead_anyways__right_)
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[Q3: Should I scream and run around and go through the streets wailing of doom?](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/j9Q8bRmwCgXRYAgcJ/miri-announces-new-death-with-dignity-strategy#Q3___Should_I_scream_and_run_around_and_go_through_the_streets_wailing_of_doom_)
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[Q4: Should I lie and pretend everything is fine, then? Keep everyone's spirits up, so they go out with a smile, unknowing?](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/j9Q8bRmwCgXRYAgcJ/miri-announces-new-death-with-dignity-strategy#Q4___Should_I_lie_and_pretend_everything_is_fine__then___Keep_everyone_s_spirits_up__so_they_go_out_with_a_smile__unknowing_)
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[Q5: Then isn't it unwise to speak plainly of these matters, when fools may be driven to desperation by them? What if people believe you about the hopeless situation, but refuse to accept that conducting themselves with dignity is the appropriate response?](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/j9Q8bRmwCgXRYAgcJ/miri-announces-new-death-with-dignity-strategy#Q5___Then_isn_t_it_unwise_to_speak_plainly_of_these_matters__when_fools_may_be_driven_to_desperation_by_them___What_if_people_believe_you_about_the_hopeless_situation__but_refuse_to_accept_that_conducting_themselves_with_dignity_is_the_appropriate_response_)
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[Q6: Hey, this was posted on April 1st. All of this is just an April Fool's joke, right?](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/j9Q8bRmwCgXRYAgcJ/miri-announces-new-death-with-dignity-strategy#Q6___Hey__this_was_posted_on_April_1st___All_of_this_is_just_an_April_Fool_s_jo
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