I think most Utilitarians typically don’t care about extinction of some species per se, but instead more about something like how it affects the total amount of good and bad experiences that are experienced. From that perspective, some billion years of life of continued existince of animals on Earth is probably way less exciting given there’s one species, humanity, that probably is headed to become or give rise to a space faring civilization with the potential to vastly exceed any Utopian imaginations. Additionally, given that animals in nature are probably living way less enjoyable lives than most people imagine, I personally don’t feel so good about the idea of dragging out the current state of nature for longer than necessary.
I think most Utilitarians typically don’t care about extinction of some species per se, but instead more about something like how it affects the total amount of good and bad experiences that are experienced. From that perspective, some billion years of life of continued existince of animals on Earth is probably way less exciting given there’s one species, humanity, that probably is headed to become or give rise to a space faring civilization with the potential to vastly exceed any Utopian imaginations. Additionally, given that animals in nature are probably living way less enjoyable lives than most people imagine, I personally don’t feel so good about the idea of dragging out the current state of nature for longer than necessary.