Cluelessness. Maybe we can’t knowably affect the future (I find this argument probably the most weak)
Anthropics/Doomsday argument. It’s extremely unlikely that we should observe ourselves as among the 100 billion earliest people, so we should update heavily towards thinking the future is inevitably doomed
Simulation Hypothesis. (relatedly) If we’re extremely certain we’re in a simulation, then (under most theories of value and empirical beliefs) we should care more about the experiences of existing beings.
You might not care. I think this is maybe the strongest argument. If morality is mind-independent, the fact that you don’t care about astronomical waste even after careful consideration of all the argument is by itself maybe sufficient argument that it’s not a key moral priority (to you).
What are some strong arguments against ‘astronomical waste’?
In roughly ascending order of plausibility:
Cluelessness. Maybe we can’t knowably affect the future (I find this argument probably the most weak)
Anthropics/Doomsday argument. It’s extremely unlikely that we should observe ourselves as among the 100 billion earliest people, so we should update heavily towards thinking the future is inevitably doomed
Simulation Hypothesis. (relatedly) If we’re extremely certain we’re in a simulation, then (under most theories of value and empirical beliefs) we should care more about the experiences of existing beings.
You might not care. I think this is maybe the strongest argument. If morality is mind-independent, the fact that you don’t care about astronomical waste even after careful consideration of all the argument is by itself maybe sufficient argument that it’s not a key moral priority (to you).