all the work done by other EAs in other causes would be for naught if we end up becoming extinct
Iāve seen this argument elsewhere, and still donāt find it convincing. āAllā seems hyperbolic. Much longtermist work to improve the quality of posthumansā lives does become irrelevant if there wonāt be any posthumans. But animal welfare, poverty reduction, mental health, and probably some other causes Iām forgetting will still have made an important (if admittedly smaller-scale) difference by relieving their beneficiariesā suffering.
Iāve seen this argument elsewhere, and still donāt find it convincing. āAllā seems hyperbolic. Much longtermist work to improve the quality of posthumansā lives does become irrelevant if there wonāt be any posthumans. But animal welfare, poverty reduction, mental health, and probably some other causes Iām forgetting will still have made an important (if admittedly smaller-scale) difference by relieving their beneficiariesā suffering.