Moloch is the personification of the forces that coerce competing individuals to take actions which, although locally optimal, ultimately lead to situations where everyone is worse off. Moreover, no individual is able to unilaterally break out of the dynamic. The situation is a bad Nash equilibrium.…
Moloch - LessWrong This website requires javascript to properly function. Consider activating javascript to get access to all site functionality. LESSWRONGTagsLWLoginMolochEditHistorySubscribeDiscussion (0)Help improve this page EditHistorySubscribeDiscussion (0)Help improve this page MolochOriginRandom TagContributors2Ben Pace2Ruby2Yoav Ravid1Ross91Diabloto961plexLoad MoreMoloch is the personification of the forces that coerce competing individuals to take actions which, although locally optimal, ultimately lead to situations where everyone is worse off. Moreover, no individual is able to unilaterally break out of the dynamic. The situation is a bad Nash equilibrium. A trap. One example of a Molochian dynamic is a Red Queen race between scientists who must continually spend more time writing grant applications just to keep up with their peers doing the same. Through unavoidable competition, they have all lost time while not ending up with any more grant money. And any scientist who unilaterally tried to not engage in the competition would soon be replaced by one who still does. If they all promised to cap their grant writing time, everyone would face an incentive to defect. The topic of Moloch receives a formal treatment in the sequence Inadequate Equilibria, particularly in the chapter Moloch's Toolbox....(Read More)Posts tagged MolochMost Relevant 36168Meditations On MolochScott Alexander9y1019153Moloch's Toolbox (1/2)Eliezer Yudkowsky6y7014149Studies On SlackScott Alexander4y34879Moloch gamesChris van Merwijk3y9680Mazes Sequence SummaryZvi4y24260What Multipolar Failure Looks Like, and Robust Agent-Agnostic Processes (RAAPs)ΩAndrew_Critch3yΩ644110Moloch's Toolbox (2/2)Eliezer Yudkowsky6y563110Failing to fix a dangerous intersectionalyssavance1y17388A Taijitu symbol for Moloch and SlackB Jacobs4y32128An Equilibrium of No Free EnergyEliezer Yudkowsky6y482123Prisoners' Dilemma with Costs to ModelingΩScott Garrabrant5yΩ202695 general voting pathologies: lesser names of MolochJameson Quinn6y16258[Book Review] Destiny Disruptedlsusr3y4255Moloch in whom I sit aloneKatjaGrace5y16252Generalized Efficient Markets and Academiajohnswentworth4y29Load More (15/60) Add Posts