Hacker News Reader

Comment by metatronscube | Hacker News Reader

I think its worth exploring this concept. I wouldn't mind living under an AI controlled meritocracy ;). I don't care if an AI or a person is running a city as long as they are good at their job and they make sensible balanced decisions that are in the best interest of the people. If that's a machine intelligence then so be it, I for one welcome our IBM supercomputer super controller overlords.

View on HN

> as long as they are good[X] at their job[X] and they make sensible[X] balanced[X] decisions that are in the best interest[X] of the people[X]

Please objectively and exhaustively define the marked terms. That, not AI, is the real challenge to better government. Incidentally, it's also pretty much the definition of politics.

Erm...No :)

Well ok, I get what you are saying, but a machine intelligence would faithfully and honestly apply these perfect values every time without bias. When have you ever known a flesh and blood Government to do so?

My point is that you can't establish criteria that will predetermine your response to a given situation unless you subscribe to an extremely simplistic ideology. Politicians with these ideologies don't generally get elected for executive office - and it's NOT out of fear they won't faithfully and honestly apply their ideology, rather the opposite - so why would an algorithm?

>...unless you subscribe to an extremely simplistic ideology. Politicians with these ideologies don't generally get elected...

Only politicians with simplistic ideologies get elected. What world have you been living in? "Soundbite philosophy" is a big part of why our governments are so terrible at their jobs. Nuance and subtlety don't earn you votes.

No, they run on simplistic renderings of whatever issues are fashionable whenever they run. Most have no discernible consistent ideology at all, and are elected on vague metrics such as "good leader" and "likeable".

> Please objectively and exhaustively define the marked terms.

CEV[1]! ...maybe.

[1] http://singinst.org/upload/CEV.html

Reply on news.ycombinator.com