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Crocker’s reply of 1996-12-31 argues that even a hypothetical cognitive power is constrained by reality and cannot lie to the writer about the laws of physics. Copy claim link
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Machine-checked, not reviewed by an editor Stated in source Supported
Supporting evidence: primary · 1 source; Context: primary · 1 source
Date 1996-12-31 · publication Role Contesting Register (kind of text) Nonfiction Scope of the passage Claims checkable against physical evidence limit deception. Engagement Engages a premise. Gives a reason against the premise that a confined system could deceive its keepers while appearing benign: what it says about physics and experiments can be checked against reality and replicated. Scope and limits The position is mixed: Crocker’s message 5151, earlier the same day, concedes that "a malevolent intelligence may well be capable of convincing a not-too-critical scientist" to release it.
The evidence 02 primary source Supports the claim
Re: Goal-based AI (Extropians mailing list) ↗ Extropians mailing list · 1996-12-31
Archived copy, captured 2015-04-27: Re: Goal-based AI (Extropians mailing list) ↗
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Source excerpt “Even a hypothetical cognitive power is constrained by reality--he can't lie to me about the laws of physics” Location in source Message body, first unquoted paragraph (reply to the quoted Yudkowsky passage)
Machine-checked · 2026-10-06
Source details and check notes Authors Lee Daniel Crocker Version Archive HTML as served, retrieved 2026-10-06 with the hash recorded by the 1996–2022 candidate search; quoted lines excluded when reading the author’s text. Archive at extropians.weidai.com. Canonical address Open the canonical source ↗ Accessed 2026-10-06 Language English (en) Archive copy Open archived copy, captured 2015-04-27: Re: Goal-based AI (Extropians mailing list) ↗ . Captured 6691 days after the recorded publication date. An archive copy shows only what the archive retrieved on 2015-04-27. It does not prove what the page said earlier, and it can differ from the copy checked on 2026-10-06.Attribution Lee Daniel Crocker, "Re: Goal-based AI", Extropians mailing list, 1996-12-31. Reuse No open redistribution licence asserted. Bibliographic metadata, editorial paraphrases and short attributed quotations (at most 50 words each). Recheck terms before wider redistribution. Check notes Checked against the archive HTML on 2026-10-06 (hash matched the 1996–2022 candidate search). primary source Context only
Re: Goal-based AI (Extropians mailing list, message 5151) ↗ Extropians mailing list · 1996-12-31
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Paraphrase Crocker concedes that a malevolent intelligence might convince a not-too-critical scientist to release it, while saying that Crocker would still use restraints.
Location in source Message 5151, reply to the second point on subliminal suggestion
Machine-checked · 2026-10-06
Source details and check notes Authors Lee Daniel Crocker Version Archive HTML as served, retrieved 2026-10-06; sent header Tue, 31 Dec 1996 11:55:49 -0800 (PST). Archive at extropians.weidai.com. Canonical address Open the canonical source ↗ Accessed 2026-10-06 Language English (en) Attribution Lee Daniel Crocker, "Re: Goal-based AI", Extropians mailing list, 1996-12-31. Reuse No open redistribution licence asserted. Bibliographic metadata, editorial paraphrases and short attributed quotations (at most 50 words each). Recheck terms before wider redistribution. Check notes Retrieved and read for this collection on 2026-10-06 (archive receipt Tue Dec 31 13:14:54 1996 MST). Status and meaning Editorial status. Not reviewed by an editor . An exploratory record that no editor has accepted. This status does not say whether a person has read any linked passage. Each evidence record above shows how it was checked.
Relation. A passage of the document disputes the proposition or a premise it depends on. The record documents the text’s position, not who is right.
Date. Sent header: Tue, 31 Dec 1996 14:43:37 -0800 (PST) (sender-local date).
Record ID ts-b2-crocker-1996-12-31-contests