Executive summary: The impact of human extinction or disempowerment on non-human animals remains largely unexplored, despite its potential to shape the long-term future of sentient life on Earth in ways that could be profoundly positive or negative for animal welfare.
Key points:
While longtermist discussions often focus on astronomical value scenarios like space colonization or digital minds, little attention has been given to futures where non-human animals continue to exist on Earth without human or AI control.
The post-human future could reduce factory and lab-animal suffering but might increase wild animal populations, with unclear net effects on overall suffering.
The role of small sentient beings (e.g., invertebrates) in these considerations is highly uncertain and could significantly alter moral calculations.
The likelihood of technological civilization reemerging, leading to renewed large-scale animal exploitation, is uncertain but merits consideration.
Understanding these scenarios could refine x-risk evaluations from an animal-inclusive perspective and encourage greater engagement from wild animal welfare researchers.
The author seeks feedback on these speculative considerations to advance discussion on the intersection of x-risk and animal welfare.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, and contact us if you have feedback.
Executive summary: The impact of human extinction or disempowerment on non-human animals remains largely unexplored, despite its potential to shape the long-term future of sentient life on Earth in ways that could be profoundly positive or negative for animal welfare.
Key points:
While longtermist discussions often focus on astronomical value scenarios like space colonization or digital minds, little attention has been given to futures where non-human animals continue to exist on Earth without human or AI control.
The post-human future could reduce factory and lab-animal suffering but might increase wild animal populations, with unclear net effects on overall suffering.
The role of small sentient beings (e.g., invertebrates) in these considerations is highly uncertain and could significantly alter moral calculations.
The likelihood of technological civilization reemerging, leading to renewed large-scale animal exploitation, is uncertain but merits consideration.
Understanding these scenarios could refine x-risk evaluations from an animal-inclusive perspective and encourage greater engagement from wild animal welfare researchers.
The author seeks feedback on these speculative considerations to advance discussion on the intersection of x-risk and animal welfare.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, and contact us if you have feedback.