The Bayesian Conspiracy

A lively tour of Yudkowsky's Twelve Virtues, unpacking curiosity, relinquishment, lightness, and evenness. They explore argument as testing, empiricism, simplicity, humility, and precision. Scholarship, flow-like “the void,” and cooperation under uncertainty also feature. Personal reflections and a pitch for the Guild of the Rose round out the conversation.

Matt Freeman has been cohosting several media analysis podcasts for over a decade. He and his cohost Scott have been doing weekly episodes of the Doofcast every Friday and they cover movies, books, and TV shows. Matt and Scott’s analysis podcasts have made me love stories even more and have equipped me with tools to enhance my ability to think more deeply about the stories I consume and enjoy them even more. My hope is that this meta-conversation will encourage anyone who hasn’t listened to the Doofcast or anything else Doof! Media has put out to give it a shot and see what you’ve been missing out on. Unfortunately, we were unable to coordinate a time for Matt’s cohost Scott to join us so hopefully I did an ok job making this entertaining and fun with only one expert guest. Shoutout to Skyler Crossman, the Less Wrong community organizer extraordinaire! LINKS Doof! Media, the home of Matt’s other podcasts! The Magnus Archives Bob Ross on AI Slop East Coast Mega Meetup 00:00:05 – Diving into stories 01:47:42 – Interlude with Eneasz about the East Coast Mega Meetup! 01:52:31 – Guild of the Rose Our Patreon, or if you prefer Our SubStack Hey look, we have a discord! What could possibly go wrong? (also merch) We now partner with The Guild of the Rose, check them out. LessWrong Sequence Posts Discussed in this Episode: on hiatus, returning soon

Booker Lightman, a Denver-area community organizer who founded the Colorado Ronald Reagan Club and coordinates local activism. He talks about why local politics matters for schools, zoning, and jobs. He explains party structures like caucus, assembly, and vacancy committees. He shares practical steps to get involved and examples of local advocacy wins like abolishing parking minimums.

While Eneasz is busy at InkHaven, Steven sits down with Matt Freeman to talk about not-AI stuff! We had (in my opinion) a great conversation about stoic philosophy, the traps of getting too entrenched in any philosophical framework, and some of the ingredients of a happy life. LINKS It’s Okay to Feel Bad for a Bit Doof! Media, the home of Matt’s other podcasts! Flanagan’s Wake 00:00:05 – Matt Freeman 01:55:23 – Guild of the Rose Our Patreon, or if you prefer Our SubStack Hey look, we have a discord! What could possibly go wrong? (also merch) We now partner with The Guild of the Rose, check them out. LessWrong Sequence Posts Discussed in this Episode: on hiatus, returning soon

We talk with Max Harms on the air for the first time since 2017! He’s got a new book coming out (pre-order your copy here or at Amazon) and we spend about the first half talking about If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies. LINKS Max’s first book, Crystal Society Eneasz’s audiobook of about the first two thirds of the first book And the official audiobooks page Flash fiction contest that Eneasz mentioned Max’s post on Anthropic Reasoning Red Heart If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies 00:00:05 – Max Harms 01:28:53 – Guild of the Rose 01:31:00 – Miscellanea 01:40:58 – Thank the Supporter! Our Patreon, or if you prefer Our SubStack Hey look, we have a discord! What could possibly go wrong? We now partner with The Guild of the Rose, check them out. LessWrong Sequence Posts Discussed in this Episode: on hiatus, returning soon

They dig into finding 'alpha' in daily life, from SEC filing loopholes and reverse-split arbitrage to scaling edges with automation. Stories cover auction oddities, quant bootcamp culture, and paying off debt with creative strategies. Practical advice on passive indexing, niche expertise, job-hunting tactics, and where to hunt for nonfinancial alpha rounds out the conversation.

We continue discussing Nostalgebraist’s “The Void” in the context of how to relate to LLMs. If God imagines Claude hard enough, does Claude become real? LINKS The Void Audio reading of The Void, from AskWho The referenced episode where the three of us spoke of Janus’s post “Simulators” Claude-Clark post – Simulacra Welfare: Meet Clark, by Grace Kind Golden Gate Claude Vox on Shrimp Welfare Kelsey Piper on UBI not helping Americans Eneasz story collection “Dear Grom” and his novel “What Lies Dreaming” Paid Bonus content for the week – The lads get sniped by DoofMovies.com (patreon, substack) 00:00:05 – The Void 01:32:08 – Guild of the Rose 01:35:41 – Miscellanea 01:41:45 – Thank the Supporter! Our Patreon, or if you prefer Our SubStack Hey look, we have a discord! What could possibly go wrong? We now partner with The Guild of the Rose, check them out. LessWrong Sequence Posts Discussed in this Episode: on hiatus, returning soon

In this engaging discussion, Matt Freeman, a founder of The Guild of the Rose and a frequent commentator on AI, dives into thought-provoking themes from Nostalgebraist’s "The Void." They contemplate the nature of conversations with AI like ChatGPT, questioning who, or what, we’re really engaging with. The conversation also touches on the ethics and consciousness of AI, exploring the emotional resonance of language models versus human experiences, and the philosophical implications of AI interactions. Expect a blend of humor, deep insights, and a sprinkle of anime influence!

Audio reading of The Void, from AskWho

Rob Long, Executive Director at Eleos AI Research who studies AI consciousness and welfare; Rosie Campbell, Managing Director at Eleos focused on when AIs might deserve moral consideration. They explore whether AI could be conscious soon. They debate how to detect subjective experience, whether learning signals map to pain, if bodies are required, and practical low-cost measures to reduce uncertainty about AI welfare.