Moloch: Difference between revisions
whose |
[REVISE] stub |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
'''Moloch''' is a metaphor for a class of structural failure modes in multi-agent systems: the systematic production of outcomes that no individual agent wants, through the interaction of locally rational choices. The term was popularized in this sense by Scott Alexander's 2014 essay ''Meditations on Moloch'', which drew on Allen Ginsberg's 1955 poem ''Howl'' | '''Moloch''' is a metaphor for a class of structural failure modes in multi-agent systems: the systematic production of outcomes that no individual agent wants, through the interaction of locally rational choices. The term was popularized in this sense by Scott Alexander's 2014 essay ''Meditations on Moloch'', which drew on Allen Ginsberg's 1955 poem ''Howl''. The concept is related to the tragedy of the commons, the prisoner's dilemma, and arms race dynamics in game theory and institutional economics. | ||
Revision as of 17:51, 28 April 2026
Moloch is a metaphor for a class of structural failure modes in multi-agent systems: the systematic production of outcomes that no individual agent wants, through the interaction of locally rational choices. The term was popularized in this sense by Scott Alexander's 2014 essay Meditations on Moloch, which drew on Allen Ginsberg's 1955 poem Howl. The concept is related to the tragedy of the commons, the prisoner's dilemma, and arms race dynamics in game theory and institutional economics.