It is sort of the reverse of the network effect. Just as joining the network yields benefits relative to the scale of the network, not joining the network carries larger and larger costs as the network grows.
Don't think of Roko's Basilisk as a sadomasochistic Johnny Five, think of it as a kind-of negative externality that only those failing to produce it suffer from. Police and military are sort of instances of Roko's Basilisk. You either participate and defend these armed gangs or you become their victims. The pinnacle of this is the nuclear arms race. Those countries without nukes are increasingly at the mercy of which do.
Also consider modern agriculture and animal husbandry. Hunter-gatherer societies that failed to cultivate corn, wheat, and rice were slowly hedged off the planet by settler societies. Herders and ablator workers became vectors for cross-species diseases - small pox and malaria and COVID - that ultimately decimated foreign populations coming into contact with them far more viciously than they impacted themselves. Think about car-culture. The refusal to purchase a car grows more and more harmful as the network of roadways and parking lots expands. Think about owning a phone or a computer. Communication becomes harder and harder without them as they grow increasingly common.
It is sort of the reverse of the network effect. Just as joining the network yields benefits relative to the scale of the network, not joining the network carries larger and larger costs as the network grows.
Don't think of Roko's Basilisk as a sadomasochistic Johnny Five, think of it as a kind-of negative externality that only those failing to produce it suffer from. Police and military are sort of instances of Roko's Basilisk. You either participate and defend these armed gangs or you become their victims. The pinnacle of this is the nuclear arms race. Those countries without nukes are increasingly at the mercy of which do.
Also consider modern agriculture and animal husbandry. Hunter-gatherer societies that failed to cultivate corn, wheat, and rice were slowly hedged off the planet by settler societies. Herders and ablator workers became vectors for cross-species diseases - small pox and malaria and COVID - that ultimately decimated foreign populations coming into contact with them far more viciously than they impacted themselves. Think about car-culture. The refusal to purchase a car grows more and more harmful as the network of roadways and parking lots expands. Think about owning a phone or a computer. Communication becomes harder and harder without them as they grow increasingly common.