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There's lots of very exciting work going on around the fully mapped fruit fly connectome. For example, I'm a CTO of a stealth startup that aims to do for utilitarianism what carbon credits did for environmentalism. We are selling 'utility credits' which translates directly into us simulating trillions and trillions of fruit fly brains in a state of constant orgasmic bliss, which you can then buy to offset any actions your company has undertaken that damage global happiness or well-being. We've seen a lot of interest from some pretty large industry players.

My subjective probability that this is sarcasm is .87 or so
Throw some ML and NFTs in there and I'm sure you could get this funded.
beautiful satire!
This would be comedy gold if only it wasn’t so believable.
This is great, but suffers from the same issue as carbon credits in that any secondary market is likely to allow multiple pledging for the same underlying activity. If someone is already simulating millions of orgasmically happy fruit flies, for instance, they can earn utility credits by promising not to deactivate those flies - but how can we verify the same promise hasn't already been extended elsewhere?

I think you need some NFTs.

> I think you need some NFTs.

And if you build them on a proof of work system you even increase the demand for carbon credits. It becomes a wonderfully self-sustaining and robust ecosystem unlike that pesky delicate one in the amazon getting in the way of good farmland.

This is the exact problem that my startup NeuroNFT is trying to solve

NeuroNFT is a platform that uses blockchain technology to generate and trade NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) based on the whole brain connectome of the fruit fly.

The core of the platform is a detailed, dynamic model of the fruit fly's brain connectome, mapped with high precision using cutting-edge neuroimaging techniques. Each unique connectome can be tokenized into an NFT and owned by an individual.

These NFTs aren't just pieces of digital art. By leveraging advanced machine learning algorithms and computational models, each NFT can act as a 'brain' for a virtual fruit fly in a digital environment, offering different behavioral patterns based on the unique neuronal configuration represented in the NFT.

This platform serves as a bridge between the worlds of neuroscience, blockchain, and digital art. It provides a novel way for users to learn about neuroscience, while also offering a unique, scientifically rooted form of digital collectible. Moreover, it paves the way for groundbreaking research in understanding brain dynamics and behavior, with users' interactions with their NFTs contributing valuable data to the field.

Parallel invention, missing attribution or same person?

https://twitter.com/amasad/status/1675393593953878016

Utilitarians: what's stopping you from spinning up a 1M H100 cluster and putting these fruit flies in an infinite state of orgasmic bliss?

Honest question: What about someone doing the opposite, simulating trillions of suffering flys? Shouldn‘t we worry about that?
Utilitarian blackmail pay us x amount or we torture fruit flies.
Create sentient AI and hold them to ransom? Sounds like a Neal Stephenson subplot.
We should have coffee.

I work with many well known state and local governments that have programmed which pay people not to steal and commit acts of violence. The idea is that every person who's not actively hurting someone should earn financial rewards. People with a proven track record of hurting people get higher rewards.

We've been trying to figure out a way to charge the general public for these positive externalities and I think you're on to something.

Sounds about as legit as carbon offsets genuinely are.
So sad SBF is too busy to be able to invest in your startup.
A philosophical challenge to utilitarianism.
Sprinkle some blockchain bullshit around this and you'll be drowning in money :)
Blockchain and machine learning in addition to the fly connectome so you always locate the highest peak happiness state.
I'm cutting out the middleman and just feeding fruit flies myself.
That is very interesting. Where can I read more about your company?
Absolutely brilliant.
> We are selling 'utility credits'

I'm sorry but this is where you lost me. We should be democratising utility credits, not selling them.

Yes, if we can find a way to mine bliss utility simulation credits on our smartphones, we could offset personal moral failures.
Of course, in the beginning, it could only offset base actions like pointless violence and aggressive, rude behaviour. But in the future, as we hope to simulate more advanced brains, we could offset for instance cognitive dissonance, double standards, and perhaps one day even vanity!
This could massively save on the social security budget.
Isn't this concept lifted directly from Ned Beauman's Venomous Lumpsucker? I'm hearing bells. Church bells. :)
Is your company called Black Mirror ? :-)
What a coincidence, I recently founded a startup with a similar mission. It's called TormentNexus.
Aren't carbon offsets (credits) a result of laws being passed by countries?
Aren't utility credits called money?
No. If I have 100 dollars, I might have gotten those from betting on old person fight ring in a care home - a net utility negative, or I might have gotten it from teaching disadvantaged teenagers PHP - a net utility positive.

If you have 100 UC, the only way those credits could have been minted is through 100 hours of 1 million simulated fruit flies having the time of their life.

> I might have gotten it from teaching disadvantaged teenagers PHP

Aren't they disadvantaged enough??

>...old person fight ring in a care home - a net utility negative...

Given the potential for freeing up much needed beds, I think this is debatable

If you think about it toughening up our elderly could increase their health and cause them to not need care beds as much. After the initial beatings I mean.
Hmm good point, I didn't think about that - it's a complex issue I guess
We should take a break and go down to the old person right ring.
why do you think the elderly ought not enjoy some full-contact shenanigans!?
Ah, a Venomous Lumpsucker fan.
fly.org by any chance?

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