all the work done by other EAs in other causes would be for naught if we end up becoming extinct
I’ve seen this argument elsewhere, and still don’t find it convincing. “All” seems hyperbolic. Much longtermist work to improve the quality of posthumans’ lives does become irrelevant if there won’t be any posthumans. But animal welfare, poverty reduction, mental health, and probably some other causes I’m forgetting will still have made an important (if admittedly smaller-scale) difference by relieving their beneficiaries’ suffering.
I’ve seen this argument elsewhere, and still don’t find it convincing. “All” seems hyperbolic. Much longtermist work to improve the quality of posthumans’ lives does become irrelevant if there won’t be any posthumans. But animal welfare, poverty reduction, mental health, and probably some other causes I’m forgetting will still have made an important (if admittedly smaller-scale) difference by relieving their beneficiaries’ suffering.