The Moloch Dilemma: How Game Theory Reveals a Hidden Force Behind Global Issues
You’ve probably heard of climate change, deforestation, and pollution. But have you ever wondered why, despite knowing the consequences, we still struggle to solve these problems? The answer might lie in an abstract concept from game theory called “the Moloch.”
The Moloch represents a situation where individual incentives lead to a negative outcome for everyone involved. This is called an undesirable Nash equilibrium. In simpler terms, it’s like a game of musical chairs. Everyone knows that once the music stops, they’ll have to scramble for a seat. Even though the best outcome would be for everyone to cooperate and share the chairs, the individual incentive to grab a seat first leads to a chaotic and competitive outcome.
Now, imagine this concept applied to our world. Our current system of incentives often results in destructive behavior, like harming the environment, even though we all know it’s harmful in the long run. The problem is that these incentives are deeply ingrained in our society and economic systems.
Two experts, Liv Boeree and Daniel Shmachtenberger, recently discussed this phenomenon in a thought-provoking YouTube video. They explore how the Moloch applies to various global challenges and even touch on the development of artificial intelligence (AI). They argue that if AI is developed under the influence of the Moloch, it could potentially amplify these negative outcomes instead of solving our problems.
Want to learn more about the Moloch and how it’s impacting our world? Check out the full video.
I still think that we can turn these problems around. I think we’re about to go through a period of enormous change, where we’re going to have to question a lot of our assumptions due to the massive disruption that AI will have. If we’re smart about it, we may be able to change the rules of the game and create a Nash equilibrium that benefits everyone.
More on that next time.
This article was co-authored with the insights and expertise of ChatGPT, an AI language model developed by OpenAI. ChatGPT’s knowledge and understanding of complex concepts, such as the Moloch dilemma, helped bring clarity and accessibility to this important topic for a wider audience.
(I asked ChatGPT to write its own credit. What an interesting result!)
