1) people who have pets and animal companions (and even love them!) still usually seek romantic relationships with other humans
Do they?
I mean, of course that pet lovers still usually seek intimate relationships with other humans. But I think there’s a pretty strong evidence that loving your pet too much will distract you a lot from having children. Also, it’s not uncommon to break up with your partner because your partner does not love pets as much as you (don’t tell me that you’ve never heard about the “it’s me or the dog” ultimatum).
I think there’s a pretty strong evidence that loving your pet too much will distract you a lot from having children.
Maybe? That article only seemed to say that many people own pets and don’t have children, but that doesn’t show that those people would have children if they couldn’t have a pet. After all, there are also many people who have neither children nor pets.
I’ve linked the first article I found after a 3-seconds search, since I assume basically everyone to already have a lot of anecdotal evidence about people spending insane amounts of time taking care of the pet (usually a dog). For example, in recent years I’ve already seen several times people walking their dog in a stroller, in such a way that from a distance you’d probably assume there’s a human baby inside. If that doesn’t scream “I’m using a dog as a substitute for a child”, I don’t know what does.
For example, in recent years I’ve already seen several times people walking their dog in a stroller, in such a way that from a distance you’d probably assume there’s a human baby inside.
I guess this is partly a cultural thing, I don’t recall ever witnessing that in Finland.
Of course, it’s all a matter of degrees, some people channel their love to pets alone, some to partners and pets bit not children, etc. I was simplifying.
I don’t think this affects the high-level points I’m making: widespread AI partners will have rather catastrophic effect on the society, unless we bet on a relatively quick transformation into even weirder societal states, with AGIs as full members of societies (including as romantic partners), BCI, mind uploads, Chalmers’ experience machines, etc.
However, AI partners don’t appear as net positive without assuming all these downstream changes, and there will be no problem with introducing AI partners only when these downstream advances become available (there is a counterargument here that there is some benefit to letting society “adjust” to new arrangements, but it doesn’t make sense in this context, given the expected net negativity of this adjustment and maybe even “nuclear energy effect” of bad first experiences). Therefore, introducing future civilisational transformations into the argument don’t bail out AI partners as permissible businesses, as of 2023.
Do they?
I mean, of course that pet lovers still usually seek intimate relationships with other humans. But I think there’s a pretty strong evidence that loving your pet too much will distract you a lot from having children. Also, it’s not uncommon to break up with your partner because your partner does not love pets as much as you (don’t tell me that you’ve never heard about the “it’s me or the dog” ultimatum).
Maybe? That article only seemed to say that many people own pets and don’t have children, but that doesn’t show that those people would have children if they couldn’t have a pet. After all, there are also many people who have neither children nor pets.
I’ve linked the first article I found after a 3-seconds search, since I assume basically everyone to already have a lot of anecdotal evidence about people spending insane amounts of time taking care of the pet (usually a dog). For example, in recent years I’ve already seen several times people walking their dog in a stroller, in such a way that from a distance you’d probably assume there’s a human baby inside. If that doesn’t scream “I’m using a dog as a substitute for a child”, I don’t know what does.
I guess this is partly a cultural thing, I don’t recall ever witnessing that in Finland.
Of course, it’s all a matter of degrees, some people channel their love to pets alone, some to partners and pets bit not children, etc. I was simplifying.
I don’t think this affects the high-level points I’m making: widespread AI partners will have rather catastrophic effect on the society, unless we bet on a relatively quick transformation into even weirder societal states, with AGIs as full members of societies (including as romantic partners), BCI, mind uploads, Chalmers’ experience machines, etc.
However, AI partners don’t appear as net positive without assuming all these downstream changes, and there will be no problem with introducing AI partners only when these downstream advances become available (there is a counterargument here that there is some benefit to letting society “adjust” to new arrangements, but it doesn’t make sense in this context, given the expected net negativity of this adjustment and maybe even “nuclear energy effect” of bad first experiences). Therefore, introducing future civilisational transformations into the argument don’t bail out AI partners as permissible businesses, as of 2023.