Meditations on Moloch
Scott Alexander · 2014
"Multipolar traps and coordination failures ('Moloch') drive races to the bottom across civilization."
Scott Alexander's famous essay uses the ancient Canaanite god 'Moloch' as a metaphor for multipolar traps—situations where individual rational incentives inevitably lead to a globally catastrophic outcome for everyone.
A multipolar trap (or race to the bottom) occurs when competing agents are forced to sacrifice their values just to survive. For example, if two countries are competing, and one uses toxic but cheap energy, the other must also use toxic energy or face economic ruin and invasion. Neither country wants to destroy the environment, but the structure of the competition forces them to. Alexander argues that Moloch is the 'god of coordination failure,' representing the terrifying reality that systems can optimize for survival while sacrificing everything humans actually care about (beauty, safety, truth).
In the 'Moloch' framing, what does the metaphor point to?
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The explanation above is written with AI assistance. These are the originals — go to them to check it.
- Response to Meditations on Moloch: "Moloch Hasn't Won" (Zvi Mowshowitz)LessWrong (Zvi)
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