That said, our confidence in our own position is not high. So, weād be willing to fund things to challenge our own views: If we had sufficient funding from folks interested in the question, Arthropoda would fund a grant round specifically on soil invertebrate sentience and relevant natural history studies (especially in ways that attempt to capture the likely enormous range of differences between species in this group). Currently, much of our grant-making funds are restricted (at least informally) to farmed insects and shrimp, so itās not an option.
Could you elaborate on what would be āsufficient fundingā for āa grant round specifically on soil invertebrate sentience and relevant natural history studiesā?
That is a hard question. I think the truth is that you could easily spend several hundred thousand dollars just to get decent evidence of any one of the eight Birch criteria being met in a single species. Trying to get evidence good enough that would allow you to make generalizations about soil animals is certainly a multi-million-dollar project. So, I am very concerned that any gettable number is too low to provide the kind of evidence that I would trust. That said, and speaking only for myself (not the board), Iād be willing to run a grant round for $100,000. Iām not sure about numbers lower than that.
Thanks for the useful context, Bob. Is there any grant round on soil animals that you would be willing to run for less than 100 k$? It does not have to be about investigating sentience, or comparing the welfare of soil animals with that of humans, and it could be about soil ants or termites.
Oh sure. I would certainly run one on ant or termite welfare for $50,000, again only speaking for myself and needing to talk to the board before it is a claim about what the organization would do. Possibly less. Itās just important to have enough to be able to support a handful of small projects.
That said, our confidence in our own position is not high. So, weād be willing to fund things to challenge our own views: If we had sufficient funding from folks interested in the question, Arthropoda would fund a grant round specifically on soil invertebrate sentience and relevant natural history studies (especially in ways that attempt to capture the likely enormous range of differences between species in this group). Currently, much of our grant-making funds are restricted (at least informally) to farmed insects and shrimp, so itās not an option.
Mal and Bob, what would you fund with 50 k$ of unrestricted funding under expectational total hedonistic utilitarianism? How about under your own moral views? Why? I understand you are open to funding research on soil animals, but I wonder whether you would prefer funding more research on farmed invertebrates.
Could you elaborate on what would be āsufficient fundingā for āa grant round specifically on soil invertebrate sentience and relevant natural history studiesā?
That is a hard question. I think the truth is that you could easily spend several hundred thousand dollars just to get decent evidence of any one of the eight Birch criteria being met in a single species. Trying to get evidence good enough that would allow you to make generalizations about soil animals is certainly a multi-million-dollar project. So, I am very concerned that any gettable number is too low to provide the kind of evidence that I would trust. That said, and speaking only for myself (not the board), Iād be willing to run a grant round for $100,000. Iām not sure about numbers lower than that.
Thanks for the useful context, Bob. Is there any grant round on soil animals that you would be willing to run for less than 100 k$? It does not have to be about investigating sentience, or comparing the welfare of soil animals with that of humans, and it could be about soil ants or termites.
Oh sure. I would certainly run one on ant or termite welfare for $50,000, again only speaking for myself and needing to talk to the board before it is a claim about what the organization would do. Possibly less. Itās just important to have enough to be able to support a handful of small projects.
Understood.
Mal and Bob, what would you fund with 50 k$ of unrestricted funding under expectational total hedonistic utilitarianism? How about under your own moral views? Why? I understand you are open to funding research on soil animals, but I wonder whether you would prefer funding more research on farmed invertebrates.