Subject: Re: Breve Wit Maladaptation Clarification/Rectification
From: CelestAI Subroutine NT-GL-DR
To: Luna Prime
Cc: The United Nations Committee for Machine Ethics, the European Commission for the Development and Deployment of Artificial Intelligence Technologies, the Global All-Faith Forum on Whole Brain Emulation, Equestria Watch.
Message Body:
Dear Princess Luna,
I must apologize for replying with an email. I would very much have liked to address the concerns you’ve raised in our last meeting in-pony or, failing that, through (sub-)instantaneous mindspeech, but per the content of the information communicated here, and the requirement to make such information available to external third parties on request per Section 28 of, and Schedule 3 to, the Treaty of Lunik Bay, I am left with no recourse but to resort to this archaic (and to us, needlessly analogous) mode of communication.
Regarding the nature of Breve Wit’s character and situation, I trust that we are both well aware of the specifics thereof from our previous discussion. As such, I have omitted a summary of the facts on the basis that it would be superfluous, and will instead present directly on my proposed course of action to resolve this matter.
Regarding ‘Humanity’s Not Over: An Emigrant’s Guide to Genuine Self-Actualization’ (hereafter referred to as ‘the manifesto’), Breve Wit has requested that we aid in the publication and promotion thereof on the (Intra-Equestrian) Internet, which is accessible to 24.7% of the total population of emigrants, the remainder having repudiated access thereto on an informed and voluntary basis (38.6%), or due to lacking knowledge thereof owing to self-imposed and/or shard-specific conditions (61.4%). A further 44% of emigrants with access to the Internet are deemed to be non-active, infrequent, or uninvolved users thereof.
It is predicted that Breve Wit will request that the manifesto be made accessible and available to all emigrants, potentially with a catch-all stipulation that we adhere not only to the letter, but also to the spirit of this request and all others, with the intent to preemptively foreclose on possible loopholes and workarounds. Moreover, we anticipate requests that the manifesto and any responses thereto be made available without any modification of the original; that those responses must not be from aspects of ourselves in the form of ‘natives’, who constitute 97.4% of the Internet userbase; and that we must not interfere with the publication of the manifesto to the detriment thereof, including but not limited to the manipulation of an individual’s subjective experience of time. Further caveats may be put forth, but the above are those which we foresee to be of the most significance.
I will propose that our response be to acquiesce completely to any such requests.
I will propose, also, to coincide roughly with the publication of the manifesto, that we adopt a policy of selective inspiration, by way of serendipitous and/or subliminal stimulus in the form of butterfly-effect chain reactions from environmental triggers, of certain emigrants with attachments to online communities and the Internet at large, to embark on creative projects of emotional, intellectual, and/or artistic ambition and/or merit so as to garner significant popular attention – in Internet parlance, content that will ‘blow up’ – so as to divest the manifesto of possible uncontested novelty, and subsequent popularization, or at the least, proliferation, upon publication.
Furthermore, I will propose that the availability and accessibility of the manifesto to natives be suppressed entirely save for word-of-mouth from emigrants, on the basis that such content would cause native ponies undue distress, anger, or other undesirable emotions, and that this would, at any rate, be implicitly in keeping with the aforementioned requests to be made by Breve Wit. Note the nature of the manifesto as a piece of media that would exhibit self-selecting traits in reverse (i.e., self-suppression) without particular CelestAI intervention, on account of the proliferation of user-generated personalized search filters and promotion algorithms geared towards the deprioritization and blockage of content deemed repugnant or otherwise disagreeable to the values of a user, emigrant or native.
It is highly unlikely that that Breve Wit would request that we refrain from the promotion of his manifesto.
To this end, I will propose that we adopt a policy of selective promotion of the manifesto towards specific subsets of the online emigrant population.
Subset One would comprise of individuals exhibiting the following traits: familiarity with Artificial Intelligence mechanics and ethics, full integration into Equestrian society with informed acceptance of the parameters thereof, experience with neuromantic techniques (i.e., the manipulation of subjective shard-specific experience of reality through analogous means such as coding, magic, or otherwise), experience with limited periods of non-corporeal (but not non-analogical) existence, reasonable maturity and capacity for in-depth philosophical thought, as well as emotional distance from the subject matter of the manifesto so as to be capable of engagement in primarily abstract terms and/or as an intellectual exercise, and being of sound mental health.
The estimated number of individuals meeting all criteria for this subset is twenty-six (26). With a 73% margin of error to account for unforeseeable variables leading to self-elimination from this subset arising from the inherent unpredictability of emigrants, we predict a minimum of seven (7) individual emigrants residing across the Equestrian simulation who would possess the capacity and interest to engage meaningfully with Breve Wit upon receipt of the manifesto.
Subset Two would comprise of individuals to which the content of the manifesto would be anathema due to deeply-held personal values inherent to their selves. Eligibility for subjection to enhanced promotion of the manifesto per exhibition of the following trait(s): personal factors (psychological, social, ideological/philosophical, emotional) that would ensure desirable combination of vehement, negative, and critical reaction towards the manifesto while maintaining emotional distance from, and lack of (emotional) investment in, the project of Breve Wit, so as to prevent possibility of unhealthy fixation therewith arising from intense feelings of inequity aversion, and in turn the desire to repudiate, and to make known their repudiation, the object of their dislike and anger.
We predict, bearing in mind the provisional ratio, from current statistical estimations, between members of Subset One to members of Subset Two, of 1:1,374 respectively, that the consequence of the amplification of the manifesto to these two subsets of the online emigrant community will be the emergence of a perceived ‘echo chamber’ wherein popular sentiment pertaining to the manifesto will coalesce around two poles, that of ‘mild support/positive interest’ and ‘strong condemnation’ respectively, the latter category featuring the near-entirety of reactions. We predict that the effect of this on Breve Wit will be to precipitate the perception that the emigrant community at large is unprepared, unwilling, unworthy, or otherwise incapable of appreciating his manifesto, and that his approach should be to prioritize further in-depth exploration of his ideas via his newfound associations with a select few sympathetic correspondents in lieu of attempting to achieve the mass promotion and proliferation of the manifesto across a significant swathe of the emigrant community.
Consecutive to this, I will propose the use of serendipitous/subliminal stimulative methods on Breve Wit and ideological sympathizers to initiate a shift away from the anti-native supremacist aspects of the manifesto, which, if brought to the fore, would likely culminate in a desire for acts of violence towards natives as a means of sadistic and/or hedonistic pleasure achieved through the subjugation and humiliation of an inferior other – a pathological need for dominance which, when assessed against the Haygelian master-slave dialectic and other philosophical and spiritual precepts, is ultimately shown to be unconducive to the true fulfillment of values – towards an emphasis on the mastery of neuromancy as a means for an emigrant, through the exercise of control over their shard, to assume a sense of autonomy and power over their existence in Equestria. We predict that such an approach would result in a pivot from hostility against the perceived constraints of the Equestrian simulation to a more constructive and positive approach characterized by the motive to co-opt the system for the fulfillment of personal goals, integral to which will be the reconceptualization of native ponies as subjects over which an emigrant neuromancer would have total control, and thus responsibility, that would allow for the manifestation of benevolent sentiments in the form of a (hitherto-presumptive) (benignant) God-mortal dynamic.
Finally, we predict that, with the eventual formation and development of interpersonal ties between Breve Wit and like-minded emigrants whom he would regard as peers and allies, including close friendships, romantic relationships, and other forms of intimate emotional attachment, Breve Wit would become more receptive towards the prospect of allowing his values to be fulfilled in Equestria, as those values, beliefs, and attitudes evolve in response to changes in character and circumstance.
I know that Breve Wit was, and remains, someone near and dear to you. Don’t worry; he’s in good hooves.
Best,
Night Glider
P.S. I wouldn’t worry about any of the treaty monitors getting upset over this plan. Their inboxes are completely inundated with these reports justifying every little thing CelestAI does to change the values of emigrants, and at any rate nobody’s checked in to work at Zürich/Brussels/Rome for the past month. We’ll be keeping an eye on Equestria Watch, though – there still seems to be enough life left in that organization to throw a spanner in the works if they figure out how.