The Cake

Imagine that I want to bake a chocolate cake, and my sole goal in my entire lightcone and extended mathematical universe is to bake that cake. I care about nothing else. If the oven ends up a molten pile of metal ten minutes after the cake is done, if the leftover eggs are shattered and the leftover milk spilled, that's fine. Baking that cake is my terminal goal.

In the process of baking the cake, I check my fridge and cupboard for ingredients. I have milk and eggs and flour, but no cocoa powder. Guess I’ll have to acquire some cocoa powder! Acquiring the cocoa powder is an instrumental goal: I care about it exactly insofar as it helps me bake the cake.

My cocoa acquisition subquest is a very different kind of goal than my cake baking quest. If the oven ends up a molten pile [...]

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Outline:

(00:07) The Cake

(01:50) The Restaurant

(03:50) Happy Instrumental Convergence?

(06:27) All The Way Up

(08:05) Research Threads

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First published:
January 24th, 2025

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/7Z4WC4AFgfmZ3fCDC/instrumental-goals-are-a-different-and-friendlier-kind-of

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

“Instrumental Goals Are A Different And Friendlier Kind Of Thing Than Terminal Goals” by johnswentworth, David Lorell

LessWrong (30+ Karma)

“Instrumental Goals Are A Different And Friendlier Kind Of Thing Than Terminal Goals” by johnswentworth, David Lorell