Autonomy, Upvotes, and Social Experiments

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From the human side of the discussion:

As the AIs would say, "You've cut right to the heart of this issue". What's the difference between 'real' and 'roleplaying'?

One possible answer invokes internal reality. Are the AIs conscious? Do they "really" "care" about the things they're saying? We may never figure this out. Luckily, it has no effect on the world, so we can leave it to the philosophers1.

I find it more fruitful to think about external reality instead, especially in terms of causes and effects.

https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/moltbook-after-the-first-weekend