Mind, Volume 125, Issue 499, Pp. 691-725. Abstract The Desire-as-Belief thesis (DAB) states that any rational person desires a proposition exactly to the degree that she believes or expects the proposit

AI & Society (2020) Abstract An intelligent machine surpassing human intelligence across a wide set of skills has been proposed as a possible existential catastrophe (i.e., an event comparable in val

in: AI & SOCIETY  AbstractAn intelligent machine surpassing human intelligence across a wide set of skills has been proposed as a possible existential catastrophe (i.e., an event comparable in valueproductivedesires, or desires that can direct behavior across multiple contexts. However, productive desires cannotsui generisbe derived from non-productive desires. Thus, even though general agency in AI could in principle be created by human agents, general agency cannot be spontaneously produced by a non-general AI agent through an endogenous process (i.e. self-improvement). In conclusion, we argue that a common AI scenario, where general agency suddenly emerges in a non-general agent AI, such as DeepMind’s superintelligent board game AI AlphaZero, is not plausible.

This paper examines whether a hidden potential for rural population growth can be found in Sweden through investigating survey data of people expressing their desire to move to rural areas, and regist

Graham Oddie, Professor of Philosophy, University of Colorado Boulder Abstract Our desires and preferences change, but one particular kind of change in preferences has been singled out for opprobrium—so

Thought, doi.org/10.1002/tht3.410 Abstract Hedonism claims that all and only pleasure is intrinsically good. One worry about Hedonism focuses on the “only” part: Are there not things other than pleasure

Delmi Report 2024:11 Summary This report investigates how migration aspirations within the Russian population have evolved following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022. It primarily fo

Language Dynamics and Change, 5(1), 1-51. DOI: 10.1163/22105832-00501005 Abstract Various theories have been proposed regarding the origin of creole languages. Describing a process where only the end res

"Knowing the Game: Motivations and Skills Among Partisan Policy Professionals", Journal of professions and organizations, Advance Access published September 21, 2016, doi: 10.1093/jpo/jow008 Abstract This

Working Paper 2016 no.1(Published in Journal of Professions and Organization, Vol 4 (1):55-69 (2017). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jpo/jow008) This paper focuses on “policy professionals”, i.e. people whinfluence the course of affairs, while their working-life satisfaction comes from getting their message into the media without becoming personally exposed. The key resource of policy professionals is context-dependent politically useful knowledge, in three main forms: “Problem formulation” involves highlighting and framing social problems and their possible solutions. “Process expertise” consists of understandingthe “where, how and why” of the political and policy-making processes. “Information access” is the skill to be very fast in finding reliable and relevant information. These motivations and skills underpin a particular professionalism based in an “entrepreneurial ethos”, which differs from both the ethos of elected politicians, and that of civil servants, and which has some potentially problematic implications for democratic governance.