[T]he specifics of factory farming feel particularly clarifying here. Even strong-identity vegans push the horrors of factory farming out of their heads most of the time for lack of ability to bear it. It strikes me as good epistemic practice for someone claiming that their project most helps the world to periodically stare these real-and-certain horrors in the face and explain why their project matters more – I suspect it cuts away a lot of the more speculative arguments and clarifies various fuzzy assumptions underlying AI safety work to have to weigh it up against something so visceral. It also forces you to be less ambiguous about how your AI project cashes out in reduced existential risk or something equivalently important.
I think it’s quite hard to watch slaughterhouse footage and then feel happy doing something where you haven’t, like, tried hard to make sure it’s among the most morally important things you could be doing.
I’m not saying everyone should have to do this — vegan circles have litigated this debate a billion times — but if you feel like you might be in the position Matt describes, watch Earthlings or Dominion or Land of Hope and Glory.
I strongly agree with this part:
I think it’s quite hard to watch slaughterhouse footage and then feel happy doing something where you haven’t, like, tried hard to make sure it’s among the most morally important things you could be doing.
I’m not saying everyone should have to do this — vegan circles have litigated this debate a billion times — but if you feel like you might be in the position Matt describes, watch Earthlings or Dominion or Land of Hope and Glory.