Is there a natural number N for which you’d kill one person vs. giving N people one-single dust-speck? (I assume this depends on whether one expects an ever-lasting universe.)
I don’t think this question (or one discussed in the OP) admit meaningful answers. It seems a pity to just ‘pour cold water over them’ but I don’t know what else to say—whatever ‘moral truths’ there are in the world simply don’t reach as far as such absurd scenarios.
Do you “integrate” utility over time (or “experience-moments”, as per timeless bla), or is it better to just maximize the “final” point, however one got there?
Depends what game you’re playing, surely. If you’re playing ‘Invest For Retirement’ and the utility function measures the size of your retirement fund, then naturally the ‘final’ point is what matters.
On the other hand, if you’re playing ‘Enjoy Your Retirement’ and the utility function measures how much money you have to spend on a monthly basis, then what’s important is the “integrated” utility.
Two points of interest here:
(1) Final utility in ‘Invest for retirement’ equals integrated utility in ‘Enjoy your retirement’ (modulo some faffing around with discount rates).
(2) The game of ‘Enjoy your retirement’ is notable insofar as it’s a game with a guaranteed final utility of zero (or -infinity if you prefer).
I don’t think this question (or one discussed in the OP) admit meaningful answers. It seems a pity to just ‘pour cold water over them’ but I don’t know what else to say—whatever ‘moral truths’ there are in the world simply don’t reach as far as such absurd scenarios.
Depends what game you’re playing, surely. If you’re playing ‘Invest For Retirement’ and the utility function measures the size of your retirement fund, then naturally the ‘final’ point is what matters.
On the other hand, if you’re playing ‘Enjoy Your Retirement’ and the utility function measures how much money you have to spend on a monthly basis, then what’s important is the “integrated” utility.
Two points of interest here:
(1) Final utility in ‘Invest for retirement’ equals integrated utility in ‘Enjoy your retirement’ (modulo some faffing around with discount rates).
(2) The game of ‘Enjoy your retirement’ is notable insofar as it’s a game with a guaranteed final utility of zero (or -infinity if you prefer).