It’s true that technological progress so far has been largely good for humans and bad for animals (due to factory farms, but the effects on wild animals complicate this a lot).
But I also think human values towards animals have improved compared to how they were historically, and e.g., house and work animals are likely treated better on the whole now than in the past. So I think there’s been some moral progress, but this improvement has been dominated by technology simultaneously making animal food production much more cost-effective (and, as a side-effect, more suffering-producing).
I think eventually technological progress will make it cheaper to act on animal-friendly values, because I’m guessing the taste/​price/​convenience/​friction of animal meat is hitting diminishing returns, while there’s much more room for improvement with non-animal-based foods. So I think there will be a crossover point at some point, sort of the way it was with the Enlightenment and the industrial revolution, where the economic effects of technology first made many people probably worse off, but eventually the better values won out and people were left better off on the whole.
I separately also think AGI and especially ASI, if aligned with human values, can wisely advise us on good courses of actions and help improve our values and promote good values, which would also help. ASI could also help a lot with wild animal welfare, where we are currently quite at a loss.
It’s true that technological progress so far has been largely good for humans and bad for animals (due to factory farms, but the effects on wild animals complicate this a lot).
But I also think human values towards animals have improved compared to how they were historically, and e.g., house and work animals are likely treated better on the whole now than in the past. So I think there’s been some moral progress, but this improvement has been dominated by technology simultaneously making animal food production much more cost-effective (and, as a side-effect, more suffering-producing).
I think eventually technological progress will make it cheaper to act on animal-friendly values, because I’m guessing the taste/​price/​convenience/​friction of animal meat is hitting diminishing returns, while there’s much more room for improvement with non-animal-based foods. So I think there will be a crossover point at some point, sort of the way it was with the Enlightenment and the industrial revolution, where the economic effects of technology first made many people probably worse off, but eventually the better values won out and people were left better off on the whole.
I separately also think AGI and especially ASI, if aligned with human values, can wisely advise us on good courses of actions and help improve our values and promote good values, which would also help. ASI could also help a lot with wild animal welfare, where we are currently quite at a loss.