There are a variety of possible scenarios under which absurdly vast positive and negative utility could be generated, e.g. strange laws of physics. If a scenario for vast utility or disutility appears internally inconsistent and strongly disconfirmed by empirical evidence, as with Christianity, it can easily be dominated by the possibility that we will discover exotic physics enabling the generation of vast positive utility. Then, if promoting more rational thought and action enhances our likelihood of achieving such an outcome (e.g. by creating superintelligence that shares our values) this benefit can outweigh religious concerns.
Further, the egoist ‘Hell’ version of Pascal’s wager might be bypassed by committing to acquiring vast computational resources and simulating vast numbers of copies of your life experiences. The resulting dilution of ‘Hellworlds’ would vastly reduce the expectation that any particular being with your current experiences will experience vast torment.
James,
There are a variety of possible scenarios under which absurdly vast positive and negative utility could be generated, e.g. strange laws of physics. If a scenario for vast utility or disutility appears internally inconsistent and strongly disconfirmed by empirical evidence, as with Christianity, it can easily be dominated by the possibility that we will discover exotic physics enabling the generation of vast positive utility. Then, if promoting more rational thought and action enhances our likelihood of achieving such an outcome (e.g. by creating superintelligence that shares our values) this benefit can outweigh religious concerns.
Further, the egoist ‘Hell’ version of Pascal’s wager might be bypassed by committing to acquiring vast computational resources and simulating vast numbers of copies of your life experiences. The resulting dilution of ‘Hellworlds’ would vastly reduce the expectation that any particular being with your current experiences will experience vast torment.