Great post ! Thanks for highlighting these concerns.
If the impact on animals, wild and farmed wasnât so uncertain and likely important, Iâd probably be working on AI safety and would still be donating a bit to Givewell charities.
But right now, it seems less risky for me to donate farmed animals, at least to welfare reforms with much less impact on wild animals, like cage free campaigns.
More money to research on the wild animal field is also super important. Wild Animal Initiative seems to do very relevant work to remove some of the uncertainties.
But right now, it seems less risky for me to donate farmed animals, at least to welfare reforms with much less impact on wild animals, like cage free campaigns.
For individual welfare per animal-year proportional to ânumber of neuronsâ^0.5, I estimatethat cage-free and broiler welfare corporate campaigns change the welfare of soil ants, termites, springtails, mites, and nematodes 1.15 k and 18.0 k times as much as they increse the welfare of chickens. I have little idea about whether the effects on soil animals are positive or negative. I am very uncertain about what increases or decreases soil-animal-years, and whether soil animals have positive or negative lives. So I am also very uncertain about whether such campaigns increase or decrease welfare (in expectation). I do not even know whether electrically stunning shrimp increases or decreases welfare, and I see it as one of the interventions where effects on non-target beneficiaries are the least important.
Great post ! Thanks for highlighting these concerns.
If the impact on animals, wild and farmed wasnât so uncertain and likely important, Iâd probably be working on AI safety and would still be donating a bit to Givewell charities.
But right now, it seems less risky for me to donate farmed animals, at least to welfare reforms with much less impact on wild animals, like cage free campaigns.
More money to research on the wild animal field is also super important. Wild Animal Initiative seems to do very relevant work to remove some of the uncertainties.
Hi CB.
For individual welfare per animal-year proportional to ânumber of neuronsâ^0.5, I estimate that cage-free and broiler welfare corporate campaigns change the welfare of soil ants, termites, springtails, mites, and nematodes 1.15 k and 18.0 k times as much as they increse the welfare of chickens. I have little idea about whether the effects on soil animals are positive or negative. I am very uncertain about what increases or decreases soil-animal-years, and whether soil animals have positive or negative lives. So I am also very uncertain about whether such campaigns increase or decrease welfare (in expectation). I do not even know whether electrically stunning shrimp increases or decreases welfare, and I see it as one of the interventions where effects on non-target beneficiaries are the least important.