The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant

5/17/2015

The website is the personal homepage of philosopher Nick Bostrom. On this page, Bostrom presents a thought-provoking fable about a dragon in a garage. The fable serves as an allegory for assessing the plausibility of extraordinary claims and the burden of proof. Bostrom uses the dragon in the garage as a metaphor for unverifiable and unfalsifiable beliefs or ideas that are immune to empirical investigation. He argues that when faced with such claims, it is necessary to carefully examine the evidence and consider the criteria for accepting or rejecting them. The fable prompts readers to critically evaluate extraordinary claims and question the foundation of their beliefs.

philosophy ꞏ ethics ꞏ moral dilemmas ꞏ thought experiments ꞏ fables ꞏ dragon ꞏ artificial intelligence ꞏ technology ꞏ existential risk ꞏ decision making ꞏ human behavior ꞏ cognitive science ꞏ moral reasoning ꞏ autonomy ꞏ artificial general intelligence ꞏ superintelligence ꞏ future of humanity ꞏ artificial morality ꞏ machine ethics ꞏ moral responsibility ꞏ ethical systems ꞏ human values ꞏ ai alignment ꞏ ai ethics ꞏ technology ethics ꞏ philosophy of mind ꞏ consciousness ꞏ machine learning ꞏ algorithmic decision making ꞏ ethics in technology ꞏ ethics in ai ꞏ philosophy of technology ꞏ value alignment ꞏ ethical decision making ꞏ machine intelligence ꞏ future scenarios ꞏ ethical implications ꞏ human-machine interaction ꞏ moral philosophy ꞏ intelligent machines ꞏ computer science ꞏ technological progress ꞏ rationality ꞏ morality ꞏ cognitive biases ꞏ ethics of automation ꞏ futurism ꞏ ethical dilemmas ꞏ philosophy of ai ꞏ human experience ꞏ technoethics ꞏ scientific progress ꞏ ethical frameworks ꞏ ethical considerations ꞏ risk assessment ꞏ decision theory ꞏ moral agency ꞏ ethical challenges ꞏ ethical decision making frameworks