Please forgive me if I fail to address it in a sufficiently sensitive way, and know that this was not my intention. There is, of course, so much more to say about this, but I wanted to try and keep the post relatively short.
(Proceeds to write 5000 word insensitive essay anyway)
The basic argument for UBI is that means-testing is a humiliating waste of resources and it would be more efficient to just hand everyone a flat payment. Basically it's better to cut a cheque to the small number of Gates-es and Bezos-es of the world than to force a large number of people to waste time proving that they're not, and hiring people to make that determination, etc.
In theory, it could work. However in a democracy where people care deeply about how their tax dollars are spent, it's a very difficult pill. Witness the constant threats to remove even existing means-tested welfare.
Finally, it's become a bit of a techbro pie in the sky fantasy because they have designs upon creating a large amount of unemployment and would like to try and keep the pitchfork mobs away from their bunkers.
"The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then?" said Scrooge.
"Both very busy, sir."
"Oh! I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something had occurred to stop them in their useful course," said Scrooge. "I'm very glad to hear it."
"Under the impression that they scarcely furnish Christian cheer of mind or body to the multitude," returned the gentleman, "a few of us are endeavouring to raise a fund to buy the Poor some meat and drink, and means of warmth. We choose this time, because it is a time, of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices. What shall I put you down for?"
"Nothing!" Scrooge replied.
"You wish to be anonymous?"
"I wish to be left alone," said Scrooge. "Since you ask me what I wish, gentlemen, that is my answer. I don't make merry myself at Christmas, and I can't afford to make idle people merry. I help to support the establishments I have mentioned: they cost enough: and those who are badly off must go there."
"Many can't go there; and many would rather die."
"If they would rather die," said Scrooge, "they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.
What’s his proposed mechanism for it to suddenly start deriving all of biology from first principles?
He considers deriving stuff from first principles much more versatile than it actually is. That and he really believes in the possibility of using simulations for anything.
Counting calories and abiding by your commitment to eat fewer of them is hard, hard enough that while it worked for me I can't just recommend it to everyone. Like yeah no shit eat less food. It's really hard to admit that there are limits to what people can do with willpower alone, especially if you live in a subculture where you think that being galaxy brained should allow you to do literally anything. There must be some reason, any reason, besides people not being fully 1000% in control of their actions.
Why are so many people who aren't actually employed doing stem things stem chauvinists?
This schism is heating up. Pretty funny, Yudkowsky has created a monster he couldn't control, just like he imagined... only the monster is AI fandom.
While I love blaming slatescott for things, I do think there's maybe a deeper story to the fascination with addies than slatescott blogging about it once.
A lot of millennials were prescribed stimulants as kids, enough that we have some level of folk knowledge about them. In Adderall Risks he more or less admits to handing them out like candy and he is far from the only (lol ex) psychiatrist to do so.
The article, while clearly endorsing stimulants as a safe nootrooic that everyone should take (and is good for the world now let me munch a few more pills 💊), is actually more of an apologia to convince people who are already using stimulants that no harm will come to them. Sure there's the usual amount of discovering an apple pie from scratch new atheist libertarian bloviating that obscures it, but he does that about everything.*
One funny aspect of his 'stimulants are required for modern work' argument is that he's basically endorsing the social model of disability, though more recently he has decided that expressing ableism to own the libs is more important than being correct.
*Except if he wants to sneak in an idea without you thinking about it. Those will usually be the hardcore nrx ones.
Somehow more confused people are stumbling into awful.systems than ever stumbled into sneerclub.
I'm glad you mention Zvi's piece, it feels like the real insider take on SBF.
It's designed to be the perfect language for writing 2001 e commerce websites in.