Functional Decision Theory. A New Theory of Instrumental Rationality (Yudkowsky, Soares, 2018)

Last updated Feb 3, 2024

A functional decision theorist holds that a rational agent is one who follows
a decision procedure that asks “Which output of this decision procedure causes
the best outcome?”, as opposed to “Which physical act of mine causes the best
outcome?” (the question corresponding to CDT) or “Which physical act of mine
would be the best news to hear I took?” (the question corresponding to EDT)

Notes:

• Newcombs problem
• Smoking lesion problem