Win-Win vs. Moloch, the many-headed monster that may consume us all (with Liv Boeree)

1. Redesign Game Rules

Redesign the fundamental rules of a system or ‘game’ so that individual incentives naturally lead to positive collective outcomes, rather than negative ones, which is a key approach to solving Molochian problems.

2. Foster Collective Enlightenment

Help individuals within a system understand how their short-term, self-interested actions contribute to long-term collective harm, encouraging them to prioritize the greater good by taking a small personal hit for long-term benefit.

3. Internalize Externalities

Incorporate negative externalities, such as environmental or mental health costs, into corporate metrics and competitive calculus. This ensures companies optimize for broader societal well-being, not just narrow financial gains.

4. Implement Trustless Verification

Investigate and apply trustless verification technologies, like zero-knowledge proofs, to enable secure coordination and problem-solving without requiring explicit trust between parties, thereby changing the rules of the game.

5. Increase Cost of Bad Actions

Make the cost of undesirable actions high enough that individuals or entities are deterred from engaging in them. This makes it irrational to pursue actions that harm the collective.

6. Improve Information Gathering

Enhance information gathering and transparency within a system to reduce uncertainty and the ability for deception. Moloch thrives on imperfect information, so better data can mitigate its effects.

7. Establish Centralized Governance

Implement a governing body or centralized figure that can create a way for everyone to coordinate. This oversight reduces the likelihood of Molochian outcomes by enforcing agreements and rules.

8. Utilize Pre-commitment Mechanisms

Employ pre-commitment strategies where parties can prove they will not defect from an agreement. This builds trust and prevents individuals from being incentivized to take selfish actions.

9. Adopt ‘Infinite Game’ Mindset

Shift your perspective to an ‘infinite game’ where the primary objective is to keep the game or system going indefinitely, rather than focusing solely on winning narrow, short-term competitions.

10. Cultivate ‘Win-Win’ Ethos

Embody a mindset of playfulness, wisdom, and the ability to discern when to engage in healthy competition versus pure cooperation and coordination. This approach supersedes the narrow focus of Moloch.

11. Optimize for Retrospective Satisfaction

Encourage companies to optimize for users’ retrospective satisfaction and feeling that their time was well spent, rather than just immediate engagement. This can foster healthier product usage and user loyalty.

12. Offer Rewards for Good Actions

Implement reward systems, such as philanthropy prizes, to incentivize individuals and organizations to take actions that align with the collective good, rather than only punishing bad behavior.

13. Leverage Social Pressure

Use social pressure and informal communication, like gossip, to identify and deter selfish or unjust behavior within a community. Societies tend to have a good immune response to Molochian behavior.

14. Use Collective Action Platforms

Utilize platforms like Kickstarter that facilitate collective action by ensuring individual contributions are only used if a collective threshold is met. This helps solve coordination problems where individual risk is mitigated.

15. Understand Moloch Concept

Grasp the concept of Moloch as misaligned game-theoretic incentives where short-term goals, if universally pursued, make the entire system worse off. This mental model helps identify underlying issues in complex problems.

16. Personify Abstract Problems

Personify abstract game-theoretic forces, like Moloch, to give them a ’name and a face.’ This can help rally people and make them care more about solving these complex, unpersonified problems.

17. Evaluate Competition Alignment

Assess whether the incentives acting on individual players are aligned with what is good for the whole system. If incentives are aligned, competition is healthy; if misaligned, it’s unhealthy.

18. Explore ‘Woo’ Spectrum

Consciously explore the ‘rationality to woo’ spectrum, embracing open-mindedness to non-conventional explanations and modes of thinking. This can unlock creativity and potential breakthroughs, even if much of it is nonsense.

19. Balance Skepticism & Seekingness

Combine critical skepticism, which resists bad ideas and finds flaws, with seekingness, which looks for new ideas and gives them a chance. This balanced approach fosters comprehensive understanding and discovery.

20. Build Strong Interpersonal Bonds

Actively seek out and cultivate strong one-on-one interpersonal bonds by consistently reaching out to people you like. This focused effort can effectively combat feelings of loneliness and build meaningful connections.