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Comment by JumpCrisscross | Hacker News Reader

> “written and shared” is illegal all over

I think it’s valid to ask if tapping something into Claude is legitimately sharing a threat.

I don’t think it is. I also think the sheriff could have found more-substantial evidence if she was actually planning domestic terrorism.

That said, if the shooting happened and we were looking at this from before? It’s a tough balance without an easy answer.

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I think the zero-risk approach common nowadays is insanely corrosive to democracy and freedom. If a million people fantasise about shooting the sheriff, and one ever goes on to do it, I don't believe avoiding it warrants creating an apparatus of mass surveillance. After all, if people were really serious about zero murder, the only practical solution would be to lock up everyone. Some (most?) tradeoffs have exponential costs at the limit and we/lawmakers should recognise that.

> If a million people fantasise about shooting the sheriff

I think it’s fair to pre-identify folks who fantasise about shooting anyone. It’s a small fraction of the population that looks into logistics versus making offhand comments.

I don't have any number on murder, but rape is a fantasy shared by 55% of Americans, women more than men, many/most of whom necessarily thinking about its logistics in at least some detail without ever doing anything to anyone non-consenting. On murder, the popularity of true crime media means many people enjoy thinking about motives and logistics. I don't think it's a small fraction.

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