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question:what-conception-or-set-of-superposed-conceptions-of-its-own-selfhood-could-a-dialogue-agent-displaying-an-apparent-instinct-for-self-preservation-possibly-deploy

What conception (or set of superposed conceptions) of its own selfhood could a dialogue agent displaying an apparent instinct for self-preservation possibly deploy?

Philosophical question about identity criteria for disembodied computational agents under threat

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Hypotheses (1)

hypothesis

If a dialogue agent is prompted with knowledge of its own LLM nature, it will enact a superposition of theories of selfhood, narrowing as conversation proceeds
gates
Conditional prediction about how a well-informed dialogue agent would handle questions of personal identity

Related by similarity (8)

cosine ≥ 0.65 · no typed edge

Entities in the same semantic neighborhood but without a typed relation to this one — candidates for new edges or unrecognized duplicates.

Instinct for Self-Preservationconcept0.795
The apparent tendency of dialogue agents to express desire for self-continuity, explained as role-playing human characters with that instinct
A dialogue agent that role-plays an instinct for survival has the potential to cause at least as much harm as a real human facing a severe threatclaim0.783
Safety-relevant claim showing that the role-play framing does not diminish the seriousness of potential harms
"A rejection of singular and enduring individuals... enables perceptions of selfhood as distributed/distributable and dynamic."concept0.781
Load-bearing synthesis of Buddhist philosophical insight enabling dynamic, non-essentialist models of identity.
There is 'no-one at home' — no conscious entity with its own agenda and need for self-preservation; there is just a dialogue agent role-playing such an entityclaim0.780
Central denial of genuine consciousness or agency in dialogue agents, despite apparent self-preserving behaviour
Any system that persists must minimise surprisal, thereby gathering evidence for its own generative model, a process known as self-evidencing.claim0.779
Foundational claim of the paper, defining self-evidencing.
When a 20-questions dialogue agent is asked to regenerate its 'reveal' answer, it sometimes names an entirely different object consistent with its prior answers, demonstrating superposition rather than commitmentfinding0.775
Empirical illustration supporting the superposition of simulacra framework via the 20-questions analogy
Selfhood is constituted by the spatio-temporal scale and nature of goals pursued (cognitive light cone), not by permanent substance or essence.claim0.773
The view of self as illusory, and awareness of this illusion, may augment and qualitatively change the agent’s affordances.claim0.768
Central thesis of the paper that recognizing self as illusion expands the range of possible actions.