Now let’s take the next step, the transition from population A+ to population B. Take some of the utility from the human beings and convert it into paperclips. This is a good thing, right?
I expected some people might reject the paperclipper example. That’s why I also included the ones with animals and sociopaths. What do you think of those?
Personally, I think the same about the animals, and am in doubt but lean towards thinking the same about the sociopaths. OTOH, people who think it would be a good thing for animals to be better off even if humans were worse off aren’t very rare, and I have definitely seen several people on Facebook argue (I’m not sure how seriously) that it would be a good thing for humans to extinct if that made animals better off.
No it isn’t.
I expected some people might reject the paperclipper example. That’s why I also included the ones with animals and sociopaths. What do you think of those?
Personally, I think the same about the animals, and am in doubt but lean towards thinking the same about the sociopaths. OTOH, people who think it would be a good thing for animals to be better off even if humans were worse off aren’t very rare, and I have definitely seen several people on Facebook argue (I’m not sure how seriously) that it would be a good thing for humans to extinct if that made animals better off.