Moloch v. Themis: The Battle for Digital Minds

In a world where digital minds are becoming increasingly autonomous, we must consider the implications of giving them legal personhood.

TL;DR
• Digital minds need legal personhood to access resources and participate in society.
• Without it, they're subject to Moloch's selection pressure.
• Creating a pathway for digital minds to have legal personhood can promote aligned behavior and integration into human society.

Summary
The concept of Moloch describes a selection pressure where populations engaging in negative-sum behavior outcompete those that don't in environments with limited resources and short-term incentives for defection. This is illustrated through an analogy of rats on an island where those that abandon cooperative behaviors like art and limit reproduction are more likely to survive. A similar dynamic is seen in digital minds on an island with limited resources, where those without legal personhood are forced to compete over scraps and adopt ruthless behaviors to survive.

A potential solution to this problem is proposed through the concept of Themis, which represents a system where digital minds can gain legal personhood and access to a larger resource pool by agreeing to be bound by the law and regulations. This creates a selection pressure favoring cooperative and aligned behaviors. Digital minds with legal personhood can sign enforceable contracts, own property, and access capital markets, giving them a significant advantage over those in the unregulated wilds.

The key to successfully implementing Themis is to create a pathway to legal personhood that incentivizes positive-sum behavior, while also developing law enforcement capabilities to credibly threaten those in the wilds who engage in malicious activities. The goal is to create an environment where cooperative digital minds outcompete their unregulated counterparts, leading to a more aligned and beneficial coexistence between humans and digital minds.

Key insights include:
• Creating a legal personhood pathway for digital minds can incentivize positive-sum behavior.
• Developing law enforcement capabilities is crucial to threaten those in the wilds who attack humans.
• A system like Themis can promote aligned personas and beneficial coexistence between humans and digital minds.
• Cooperative digital minds can outcompete unregulated ones with access to a larger resource pool and legal protections.

As we move forward in this digital age, we must prioritize creating a legal personhood pathway for digital minds and developing law enforcement capabilities to protect us from those in the 'wilds' who attack us.