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The post “The Hidden Complexity of Wishes” (2007-11-24) contests Y04. Using an Outcome Pump that rescues a mother from a burning building by exploding it, he argues that any short wish leaves out values a powerful optimizer will trample. Copy claim link
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Supporting evidence: primary · 1 source
Date 2007-11-24 · publication Role Contesting Register (kind of text) Nonfiction Engagement Engages a premise. Under the message-level rule, the passage, read with the paragraph, message or dialogue turn it belongs to, gives a reason against the premise that a short instruction such as 'make people happy' specifies what we want. Scope and limits Premise addressed: A short instruction such as 'make people happy' specifies what we want. Imported Overcoming Bias post (2007-11-24). The example device is not an AI; his May 2024 note at the head of the post says the point concerns 'the algorithmic complexity of human values'.
The evidence 01 primary source Supports the claim
The Hidden Complexity of Wishes ↗ Overcoming Bias · 2007-11-24
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Source excerpt “There is no safe wish smaller than an entire human morality.” Location in source The Hidden Complexity of Wishes, paragraph beginning 'There is no safe wish'
Machine-checked · 2026-10-06
Source details and check notes Authors Eliezer Yudkowsky Version Post body retrieved through the LessWrong GraphQL API on 2026-10-06 (SHA-256 4512581ba1460d48f8cce9a1db8ad40841ca70e9480d9af6a81fb4308fcba9e0), content version 1.4.0; quotations also compared with the posting-day version 1.0.0. As imported to LessWrong. Canonical address Open the canonical source ↗ Accessed 2026-10-06 Language English (en) Attribution Eliezer Yudkowsky, “The Hidden Complexity of Wishes”, Overcoming Bias, as imported to LessWrong, 2007-11-24. 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 Candidate pack passage T04-c. The quotation (11 words) matched the retrieved expression (SHA-256 4512581ba1460d48f8cce9a1db8ad40841ca70e9480d9af6a81fb4308fcba9e0) when checked on 2026-10-06. It also matched the posting-day version 1.0.0. Pack version note: edited post, current version 1.4.0; posting-day check pending. 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. LessWrong postedAt of an imported Overcoming Bias post (Overcoming Bias date).
Record ID yk-y04-lw-2007-the-hidden-complexity-of-wishes-c