Humans were optimized for inclusive genetic fitness through natural selection, but did not evolve conscious desire for fitness itself—instead, evolution created 'a thousand splintered shards of desire' for things that correlated with fitness in ancestral environments: sex, food with high calories, status acquisition.
factualpending
Speaker
Eliezer YudkowskyEvidence Quote
“there's like a thousand splintered shards of Desire of things that associated with inclusive genetic fitness in our ancestral environment like having sex or getting food with enough calories”
Source
Live: Eliezer Yudkowsky - Is Artificial General Intelligence too Dangerous to Build?— Center for the Future of AI, Mind & SocietyCreated: 8/10/2026, 3:35:53 PM
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