29 KiB
[MK][META] We (as a community) discover a poster posting hypothetical questions about powers actually has those powers in real life. How do we manipulate them into doing our bidding?
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Author: u/GaBeRockKing Horizon Breach: http://archiveofourown.org/works/6785857*
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URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/rational/comments/3mw44m/mkmeta_we_as_a_community_discover_a_poster/
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Score: 10
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Created: 2015-09-29T22:27:17
Post:
Let's say the power is something fairly generic, and not too powerful. Say, "can sense the emotional states of all people in a 1000m radius of themselves, and has an attendant sub-power to allow them to keep track of all those people and emotions, regardless of how many there are."
Oh, and an attendant question: if we can get that person under our thumb, what would we have them do?
Comments:
u/clawclawbite [+37] (12 minutes later)
You don't.
You help them become and stay a productive and functional member of society. If there is one empowered person, they are not likely unique going forward. As long as they are not a wolrdbreaker, the most important thing is to set the precedent of how such folk are treated. If they are a potential wolrdbreaker we want them stable and happy for our own good.
Rational altruism all the way.
u/Bowbreaker [+4] Solitary Locust (7 hours later)
If they are a potential wolrdbreaker we want them stable and happy for our own good.
This sounds risky as fuck. The amount of positive change and breakdown prevention that can be done by being friendly on reddit seems far too small. This guy is an existential threat. Doing the "right" thing and hoping for the best is not an option.
u/clawclawbite [+9] (17 hours later)
I have the skills to be a supportive friend. I don't have the skills to mentor and develop an alpha mutant equivalent. There is a reason they made Prof-X a mind-god.
u/Bowbreaker [+1] Solitary Locust (21 hours later)
Find someone who has those skills and work with him? We're talking about a threat to all humans here, not just about how to maximize your personal power and prestige.
u/RMcD94 [-1] (14 hours later)
Indeed, the issues facing someone of worldbreaking power level likely make "being nice on the internet" inconsequential to their mental health.
u/None [+6] (an hour later)
Easy become friends with them. Then ask for favors. See if I could have him somehow transfer or awaken any powers in me.
As for how to exploit a person with that ability fuck if I know. To be honest a person that could sense emotional states would never be manipulated by anyone with less than perfect emotional control. Best idea is just to be that persons friend.
Assuming I could get him to do what I said there's not really much I could do with empathy (which is the power you are proposing). The person with the power could probably rise really high in politics and with practice could be unnaturally charismatic. I could help him rise to power which would benefit me quite a bit. Assuming of course I wanted to push him in the political power direction, which I would avoid at all costs, politicians that cannot effectively read minds are scary enough as is.
I'd probably just tell him to become a motivational speaker or something. I'd have a friend that gives great advice and could get women in bed easier than James Bond. I could tag along and get all the hot women I want with minimal effort. And in the end that's all that really matters right?
u/None [+9] (2 hours later)
Easy become friends with them. Then ask for favors. See if I could have him somehow transfer or awaken any powers in me.
Indeed. We shall achieve our goals through the power of... FRIENDSHIP!
SUNSHINE REGIMENT, FORM UP!
u/Meneth32 [+4] (a day later)
We shall achieve our goals through the power of... FRIENDSHIP!
Friendship is sufficiently advanced technology, after all.
u/None [+3] (2 days later)
That is the motto of the Canterlot Campaign, who were formed as breakaway Sunnies.
u/Transfuturist [+3] Carthago delenda est. (2 hours later)
I'm a Chaos Legion traitor. I shall demonstrate my treason with milk and cookies.
u/None [+2] (2 hours later)
I know of no Chaos God who takes milk and/or cookies as accepted sacrifices.
u/ArgentStonecutter [+5] Emergency Mustelid Hologram (13 hours later)
Um, you don't acknowledge the cookie monster as a chaos god?
What is wrong with you?
COOKIES FOR THE COOKIE GOD
u/Transfuturist [+2] Carthago delenda est. (2 hours later)
Slaanesh enjoys his/her aftercare.
u/Empiricist_or_not [+1] Aspiring polite Hegemonizing swarm (3 hours later)
WHat's the going price of Daemon Princedom, without your mental processes being affected, or your body being so addicted, oversensatized, ect to affect your mental processes in milk and cookies?
u/Transfuturist [+1] Carthago delenda est. (3 hours later)
I'm not actually an ambassador, I just found this diplomatic ID card in the Warp.
u/None [+1] (4 hours later)
So then you're a heretic. And you know what we do to heretics!
BLAM!
u/Empiricist_or_not [+1] Aspiring polite Hegemonizing swarm (a day later)
Oops I ment to ask what the price was in milk and cookies.
u/None [+1] (4 hours later)
WHat's the going price of Daemon Princedom, without your mental processes being affected, or your body being so addicted, oversensatized, ect to affect your mental processes
There isn't one. That's just not what the Chaos Gods want to give out, and mortals don't have sufficient leverage to extort anything so Orderly as sane mental processes from Chaos.
u/None [+1] (4 hours later)
Oh hey, nice new flair. Pity about your soul.
u/Transfuturist [+1] Carthago delenda est. (4 hours later)
Oh, I sold that off years ago. The kid I gave it to traded it for some pogs.
u/None [+1] (4 hours later)
So then you're literally just offering Slaanesh milk and cookies, in the total absence of your soul?
Well, feel free to call for backup when you find out how that works out for you.
u/Transfuturist [+1] Carthago delenda est. (4 hours later)
Those that dare his realm risk becoming trapped in its warped delights for eternity.
Sounds pretty good to me. :D
u/None [+3] (4 hours later)
Really? Dopaminergic anti-feedback sounds like anything but torture to you? Slaanesh is the god of "never enough". Personally, I've always felt that a lagom, "just enough", approach works well.
But hey, like I said, feel free to call for backup. You know what we do with eldritch abominations whose homeostatic processes don't run on math or science, right?
Because, spoilers, the answer is, "Disassemble them to see how they do work."
u/Transfuturist [+1] Carthago delenda est. (4 hours later)
Not sure what you mean by anti-feedback.
And personally, I find that "never enough" characterizes my goals very concisely.
u/None [+3] (13 hours later)
Not sure what you mean by anti-feedback.
The kind of addiction where no high is ever as enjoyable as the first high, and where, in fact, net enjoyment declines with each additional hit of the drug. I don't think that's a technical term, and wish I knew enough about addiction treatment to warn you adequately about what you're getting into.
And personally, I find that "never enough" characterizes my goals very concisely.
Just saying, the friends of Slaanesh never achieve any kind of satisfaction in life. He/she/holy-shit-what-is-that is really just a one-trick pony: temptation and addiction without any eventual point.
u/Transfuturist [+1] Carthago delenda est. (17 hours later)
You're thinking of acclimation, and that's not an issue with the diversity of experiences under consideration here.
He/she/holy-shit-what-is-that is really just a one-trick pony: temptation and addiction without any eventual point.
Such propaganda. sniff
u/None [+1] (17 hours later)
Propaganda? Now I'm not sure if you got the joke or missed it by galaxies.
But hey, I'm pretty damn sure acclimation is exactly what happens to Slaanesh cultists.
u/Transfuturist [+1] Carthago delenda est. (17 hours later)
If you can think of a better symbol for hedonism and gender ambiguity, I'm open to suggestions.
u/None [+1] (a day later)
I guess Kiryuuin Ragyo isn't much one for gender ambiguity, huh.
Or are you actually Nui?
u/Transfuturist [+1] Carthago delenda est. (a day later)
Smiling Slasher doesn't really suit me. Also I have arms.
u/None [+1] (a day later)
Zing. Zing indeed.
u/Transfuturist [+1] Carthago delenda est. (a day later)
Gatdamn, I need to watch TTGL.
u/None [+1] (a day later)
You're a fan of Kill la Kill but haven't watched TTGL? WHAT. THE. HELL!?
Do I have to physically come to your house, bring alcohol and the DVD box set, and fucking force you to watch the greatest, most badass anime ever made!?
u/Transfuturist [+1] Carthago delenda est. (a day later)
Neeeeeee, I'm underage, sempai-sama-chan!
I would currently be watching Stand Alone Complex, but I'm way too fucking busy to actually watch anything at the moment.
u/None [+1] (a day later)
I know those feels. I'm just about busy enough to work, go to the gym, cook, study probprog, and sleep.
u/None [+3] (3 hours later)
[deleted]
u/None [+2] (2 days later)
Does the character temporarily change gender for two of the panels there?
u/None [+1] (4 hours later)
I'm not clicking on any link to Oglaf with someone else in the room, because goddamn that comic is weird.
u/whywhisperwhy [+2] (4 hours later)
As stated above, this one is SFW but thanks for the reminder not to be so casual with Oglaf lol. Just an aside, is there a better method than using "Inspect Element" for scouting links?
u/Transfuturist [+2] Carthago delenda est. (7 hours later)
Mouseover and most browsers will show the link in the status bar.
u/GaBeRockKing [+1] Horizon Breach: http://archiveofourown.org/works/6785857 (5 hours later)
right-click copy link?
u/GaBeRockKing [+1] Horizon Breach: http://archiveofourown.org/works/6785857 (4 hours later)
don't worry, this is one of the SFW ones.
(being serious)
u/None [+1] (4 hours later)
Well that was funny.
u/TennisMaster2 [+3] (a day later)
[...] could get women in bed easier than James Bond. I could tag along and get all the hot women I want with minimal effort. And in the end that's all that really matters right?
Reading this makes me very uncomfortable.
u/GaBeRockKing [+1] Horizon Breach: http://archiveofourown.org/works/6785857 (an hour later)
would never be manipulated by anyone with less than perfect emotional control.
Then it's a good thing we're talking to them through a computer terminal. ;)
u/None [+1] (an hour later)
You can't really be a guys friend through a computer terminal. At least not the type of friend that they would really help.
Also the longer he has the power the more he would come to rely on it. I know for one thing that if I had this power that I'd never trust anyone unless I could sense their emotions. In the end manipulation always comes down to trust. The chances of getting a person with that power to trust you despite not seeing you is next to none.
u/Empiricist_or_not [+2] Aspiring polite Hegemonizing swarm (3 hours later)
My past experience, while anecdotal, does not agree
u/GaBeRockKing [+1] Horizon Breach: http://archiveofourown.org/works/6785857 (an hour later)
You can't really be a guys friend through a computer terminal
Yep, that's the fundamental problem.
Note, though, that the person in question approached the community themselves, asking for help with their powers. The idea is that, disguised as advice, the community can try to manipulate them, whether by consistently giving the same kind of advice or by presenting extra-convincing arguments.
u/Transfuturist [+5] Carthago delenda est. (2 hours later)
The type of people that post to this sub are less than likely to be manipulable by people they hardly know. In this scenario, the individual in question probably has very good ideas about what they want to happen and how they can learn to go about doing it in an effective manner. Our community has a foundation in inoculating people against manipulation, by others and themselves.
Also, the "attendant sub-power" is more useful than the primary power. However, that primary power would allow the individual to see straight through the type of bullshit you'd be pulling if you ever were identifiably in-range.
u/Bowbreaker [+1] Solitary Locust (7 hours later)
Doesn't that depend on the emotions you exude? If you don't feel any guilt or shame for manipulating him he shouldn't notice there being much off. At most maybe that you are warming up to him slower than expected and that you behave friendlier than you feel? That could have all kinds of non-sinister reasons. Bottom line, if you are a good liar with little scruples that isn't above befriending his targets/manipulating his friends you shouldn't have too much difficulty because of his powers.
u/TimeLoopedPowerGamer [+6] Utopian Smut Peddler (6 hours later)
Reddit has long been a hot spot for conversation on the internet. About 57 million people visit the site every day to chat about topics as varied as makeup, video games and pointers for power washing driveways.
In recent years, Reddit’s array of chats also have been a free teaching aid for companies like Google, OpenAI and Microsoft. Those companies are using Reddit’s conversations in the development of giant artificial intelligence systems that many in Silicon Valley think are on their way to becoming the tech industry’s next big thing.
Now Reddit wants to be paid for it. The company said on Tuesday that it planned to begin charging companies for access to its application programming interface, or A.P.I., the method through which outside entities can download and process the social network’s vast selection of person-to-person conversations.
“The Reddit corpus of data is really valuable,” Steve Huffman, founder and chief executive of Reddit, said in an interview. “But we don’t need to give all of that value to some of the largest companies in the world for free.”
The move is one of the first significant examples of a social network’s charging for access to the conversations it hosts for the purpose of developing A.I. systems like ChatGPT, OpenAI’s popular program. Those new A.I. systems could one day lead to big businesses, but they aren’t likely to help companies like Reddit very much. In fact, they could be used to create competitors — automated duplicates to Reddit’s conversations.
Reddit is also acting as it prepares for a possible initial public offering on Wall Street this year. The company, which was founded in 2005, makes most of its money through advertising and e-commerce transactions on its platform. Reddit said it was still ironing out the details of what it would charge for A.P.I. access and would announce prices in the coming weeks.
Reddit’s conversation forums have become valuable commodities as large language models, or L.L.M.s, have become an essential part of creating new A.I. technology.
L.L.M.s are essentially sophisticated algorithms developed by companies like Google and OpenAI, which is a close partner of Microsoft. To the algorithms, the Reddit conversations are data, and they are among the vast pool of material being fed into the L.L.M.s. to develop them.
u/Toptomcat [+2] (a day later)
Maybe also quit dairy and wheat, see if that helps.
There's a type of temporary insanity that can be treated by abstaining from dairy and wheat?
u/Farmerbob1 [+3] Level 1 author (a day later)
If you are allergic to either, they can make you rather miserable in quite a few different ways, prevent proper sleep, and eventually lead to hallucinations either from lack of sleep or dehydration.
u/TimeLoopedPowerGamer [+2] Utopian Smut Peddler (2 days later)
Reddit has long been a hot spot for conversation on the internet. About 57 million people visit the site every day to chat about topics as varied as makeup, video games and pointers for power washing driveways.
In recent years, Reddit’s array of chats also have been a free teaching aid for companies like Google, OpenAI and Microsoft. Those companies are using Reddit’s conversations in the development of giant artificial intelligence systems that many in Silicon Valley think are on their way to becoming the tech industry’s next big thing.
Now Reddit wants to be paid for it. The company said on Tuesday that it planned to begin charging companies for access to its application programming interface, or A.P.I., the method through which outside entities can download and process the social network’s vast selection of person-to-person conversations.
“The Reddit corpus of data is really valuable,” Steve Huffman, founder and chief executive of Reddit, said in an interview. “But we don’t need to give all of that value to some of the largest companies in the world for free.”
The move is one of the first significant examples of a social network’s charging for access to the conversations it hosts for the purpose of developing A.I. systems like ChatGPT, OpenAI’s popular program. Those new A.I. systems could one day lead to big businesses, but they aren’t likely to help companies like Reddit very much. In fact, they could be used to create competitors — automated duplicates to Reddit’s conversations.
Reddit is also acting as it prepares for a possible initial public offering on Wall Street this year. The company, which was founded in 2005, makes most of its money through advertising and e-commerce transactions on its platform. Reddit said it was still ironing out the details of what it would charge for A.P.I. access and would announce prices in the coming weeks.
Reddit’s conversation forums have become valuable commodities as large language models, or L.L.M.s, have become an essential part of creating new A.I. technology.
L.L.M.s are essentially sophisticated algorithms developed by companies like Google and OpenAI, which is a close partner of Microsoft. To the algorithms, the Reddit conversations are data, and they are among the vast pool of material being fed into the L.L.M.s. to develop them.
u/Farmerbob1 [+2] Level 1 author (a day later)
If we, as a community figure it out, wouldn't that person also know, as they are a part of the community?
Even if they don't, how long would that last? Someone would object to our plans to manipulate the person, and tell them.
u/ArgentStonecutter [+1] Emergency Mustelid Hologram (4 minutes later)
You have two options.
Guilt trip.
Online stalking, doxxing, and blackmail.
u/None [+9] (3 hours later)
[deleted]
u/GaBeRockKing [+5] Horizon Breach: http://archiveofourown.org/works/6785857 (3 hours later)
u/ArgentStonecutter [+1] Emergency Mustelid Hologram (12 hours later)
Sorry, what Internet are you on again?
u/None [+1] (33 minutes later)
Say please?
u/Empiricist_or_not [+1] Aspiring polite Hegemonizing swarm (3 hours later)
I usually don't have to, by the time I reach these thread's someone's come up with a way to hack the most minor means of reality violation into FAI and or immortality. If they haven't then you figure it out or you ask for help.
To be short the big goals are FAI to get us to immortality, and immortality. If you have a tool, then you use that to work on one of those problems or support those who are working on them.
u/itaibn0 [+1] (22 hours later)
Most suggestions for that sort of question-and-answer on this forum rely not just on having the stated superpower but also in being an incredibly driven person willing to extensively research and learn new skills for the sake of manipulating their superpower. Although these sorts of details can easily be hand-waved away in fiction I expect in practice a person will not be able to successfully carry out most of these plans. In addition, if the plan involves the superhero covertly getting a lot of influence and power, and this community will inevitably break up into factions on the best end to use this power.
I suggest to rat the guy out. To the police or domestic intelligence, through a secure channel, if they're too dangerous, to the media if they're not. If they're the kind of person who posts here they should be more than willing to be subjected to scientific research (assuming they're assured it's safe for them), which can have a broad benefit to humankind. A potential problem is if we can't find the real-world identity of this person or can't convince anybody else their powers are real (though if we can't convince anybody else the guy's superpowers are real, we have to start wondering why we're so convinced ourselves).
u/LiteralHeadCannon [+1] (5 minutes later)
Track them down and kill them, assuming that's possible. You don't fuck with superhumans, guy. You don't really know how their powers work; they could turn out to be some kind of horror from beyond that's going to kill everything in a few years. Lex has the right approach to this one.
u/GaBeRockKing [+2] Horizon Breach: http://archiveofourown.org/works/6785857 (6 minutes later)
So are you personally willing/capable of tracking them down and murdering them? How would you prevent other community members from stopping you?
u/Transfuturist [+1] Carthago delenda est. (2 hours later)
He wouldn't reveal his intentions publicly. That's kind of a no-brainer.
However, now that he has revealed his intentions here, if this ludicrously unlikely scenario ever occurs (there is a certain class of physically realizable 'superpowers'), I'll know that the subject will need protection.
u/GaBeRockKing [+5] Horizon Breach: http://archiveofourown.org/works/6785857 (2 hours later)
See, this is all a meta-meta-plot designed for when I come out as someone with superpowers, so I know the potential ways people on the boards I'd ask for advice would react.
All goes according to keikaku.
u/Transfuturist [+1] Carthago delenda est. (2 hours later)
It's pretty funny, because that's actually what I thought you were going to say next. I'm upvoting the OP just for that.
All according to keikaku.
u/GaBeRockKing [+3] Horizon Breach: http://archiveofourown.org/works/6785857 (2 hours later)
In all seriousness, I've considered making an "in-charachter" account where I roleplay as someone that that has supernatural powers and is asking for advice, and then write out stories of what they do with them. Like a series of quest threads, but a bit more immersive. Unfortunately, I don't think I'd care to spend that much time on it :(
I'd probably have to introduce some arbitrary limitations to explain why I'd keep the character contained to an arbitrarily small geographic location as well. Maybe something where the end result of the quest is finding some sort of power-granting item, and sending it in for analysis?
u/Transfuturist [+1] Carthago delenda est. (3 hours later)
Sort of like Marble Hornets and those other ARG blogs? Those have a very nice style, but unfortunately they're all about Slenderman, or worse, an extended Slenderman canon.
u/GaBeRockKing [+2] Horizon Breach: http://archiveofourown.org/works/6785857 (3 hours later)
I've never read them so I can't really give you an answer, sorry. Sounds very spooky though.
u/Empiricist_or_not [+1] Aspiring polite Hegemonizing swarm (3 hours later)
In this 4chan is our friend: evidence or it didn't happen.
u/GaBeRockKing [+1] Horizon Breach: http://archiveofourown.org/works/6785857 (3 hours later)
The idea would be to only respond to posts treating it like it's in-character and providing "evidence" (read: bad photoshops) that is accepted by people who choose to join the roleplay. For example, back in the planetside 2 subreddit we had a alt called "NS Corra Dald" that roleplayed as a Nanite Systems customer relations spokesperson, and exclusively replied in-character. Everyone knew it was clearly a joke (including, obviously, the person who ran the alt), but people still replied as if the alt represented a real person because it was amusing.
u/None [+1] (a day later)
[deleted]
u/GaBeRockKing [+1] Horizon Breach: http://archiveofourown.org/works/6785857 (6 days later)
If you can't solve your problems with more dakka, your real problem is not enough dakka.
u/TimeLoopedPowerGamer [+1] Utopian Smut Peddler (6 hours later)
Reddit has long been a hot spot for conversation on the internet. About 57 million people visit the site every day to chat about topics as varied as makeup, video games and pointers for power washing driveways.
In recent years, Reddit’s array of chats also have been a free teaching aid for companies like Google, OpenAI and Microsoft. Those companies are using Reddit’s conversations in the development of giant artificial intelligence systems that many in Silicon Valley think are on their way to becoming the tech industry’s next big thing.
Now Reddit wants to be paid for it. The company said on Tuesday that it planned to begin charging companies for access to its application programming interface, or A.P.I., the method through which outside entities can download and process the social network’s vast selection of person-to-person conversations.
“The Reddit corpus of data is really valuable,” Steve Huffman, founder and chief executive of Reddit, said in an interview. “But we don’t need to give all of that value to some of the largest companies in the world for free.”
The move is one of the first significant examples of a social network’s charging for access to the conversations it hosts for the purpose of developing A.I. systems like ChatGPT, OpenAI’s popular program. Those new A.I. systems could one day lead to big businesses, but they aren’t likely to help companies like Reddit very much. In fact, they could be used to create competitors — automated duplicates to Reddit’s conversations.
Reddit is also acting as it prepares for a possible initial public offering on Wall Street this year. The company, which was founded in 2005, makes most of its money through advertising and e-commerce transactions on its platform. Reddit said it was still ironing out the details of what it would charge for A.P.I. access and would announce prices in the coming weeks.
Reddit’s conversation forums have become valuable commodities as large language models, or L.L.M.s, have become an essential part of creating new A.I. technology.
L.L.M.s are essentially sophisticated algorithms developed by companies like Google and OpenAI, which is a close partner of Microsoft. To the algorithms, the Reddit conversations are data, and they are among the vast pool of material being fed into the L.L.M.s. to develop them.