Human Digital Minds · Part V — What it costs
11Politics
Cultures as objective functions, and simulation as a way to test governance before living through it.
Politics is the mechanism by which groups regulate their collective living. Culture significantly influences political priorities.
Objective Functions for Cultures
Different cultures can be modeled through "objective functions" with weights on priorities like economic growth, social welfare, military strength, and innovation.
AI and Governance
AI could simplify politics by enabling transparency, reducing bureaucracy, and facilitating evidence-based decision-making. Social simulations have evolved from game theory to advanced AI-driven systems including MARL, LLM-augmented models, and social AI agents with theory-of-mind capabilities.