[Linkpost] “The Purpose of a System is what it Rewards” by robotelvis

It's become fashionable recently to say that the purpose of a system is what it does - the true purpose of an institution is often different from what it publicly claims, and is better determined by observing what it does. Scott Alexander wrote a thoughtful takedown of this, claiming “Obviously The Purpose Of A System Is Not What It Does” - often an institution is genuinely trying to do a good thing (e.g. treat patients) and the fact they do so imperfectly (e.g. some patients die) does not mean such imperfections are the goal.

I think a better framing is that the purpose of a system is what it rewards people for doing.

Meta says that their purpose is “to build the future of human connection” and used to say their mission was to “make the world more open and connected”. But Meta employees aren’t [...]

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First published:

July 26th, 2025

Source:

https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/mmbFEhqebgwtPjkJn/the-purpose-of-a-system-is-what-it-rewards

Linkpost URL:
https://messyprogress.substack.com/i/169328164/the-purpose-of-a-system-is-what-it-rewards

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.