Quote note (#296)¶
From Cixin Liu’s latest (and perhaps greatest), p.129:
When the deterrent is the complete destruction of the deterrer and the deteree, the system is said to be in a state of ultimate deterrence. […] Compared to other types of deterrence, ultimate deterrence is distinguished by the fact that, should deterrence fail, carrying out the threat would be of no benefit to the deterrer. [..] Thus, the key to the success of ultimate deterrence is the belief by the deteree that the threat will almost certainly be carried out if the deteree thwart’s the deterrer’s goals …
Hence the drive to mechanization of commitments. Trust evo-psych and cultural tradition passes the torch to game-competent machines.
ADDED: Who could he possibly be talking about (p.284)?
Of course, without exception, these “anti-intellect” organizations wanted to maintain the intelligence of their own members, arguing that they had the responsibility to be the last of the intelligent people so they could complete the creation of a society of low-intelligence humans and direct its operation.