Iām also interested in answers to this question. Iād add the following nit-picky points:
X-risks and s-risks are substantially overlapping categories (in particular, many unrecoverable dystopia scenarios also contain astronomical suffering), so itās possible a more fruitful framing is prioritisation of s-risks vs other x-risks, s-risks in particular vs x-risks as a whole, or s-risks vs extinction risks.
There could also be other moral or factual disagreements that help explain differences in the extent to which different longtermists prioritise s-risks relative to other x-risks.
In particular, I tentatively suspect that thereās a weak/āmoderate correlation between level of prioritisation of s-risks and level of moral concern for nonhuman animals.
If this correlation exists, I expect itād be partly a factual disagreement about sentience (and thus arguably a factual disagreement about the relative magnitudes of s- and x-risks), but also partly a moral disagreement about how much moral weight/āmoral status animals warrant.
And Iād expect the correlation to partly be āmere correlationā, and partly a causal factor in these prioritisation decisions.
Iām also interested in answers to this question. Iād add the following nit-picky points:
X-risks and s-risks are substantially overlapping categories (in particular, many unrecoverable dystopia scenarios also contain astronomical suffering), so itās possible a more fruitful framing is prioritisation of s-risks vs other x-risks, s-risks in particular vs x-risks as a whole, or s-risks vs extinction risks.
There could also be other moral or factual disagreements that help explain differences in the extent to which different longtermists prioritise s-risks relative to other x-risks.
In particular, I tentatively suspect that thereās a weak/āmoderate correlation between level of prioritisation of s-risks and level of moral concern for nonhuman animals.
If this correlation exists, I expect itād be partly a factual disagreement about sentience (and thus arguably a factual disagreement about the relative magnitudes of s- and x-risks), but also partly a moral disagreement about how much moral weight/āmoral status animals warrant.
And Iād expect the correlation to partly be āmere correlationā, and partly a causal factor in these prioritisation decisions.