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The shrimp welfare project

(benthams.substack.com)
81 points 0xDEAFBEAD | 2 comments | 18 Nov 24 14:44 UTC | HN request time: 0.4s | source
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delichon ◴[18 Nov 24 15:32 UTC] No.42173283[source]▶
By this logic someone who kills a person and lets them decay in a swamp such that billions or trillions of microbes benefit, we should hail them as a paragon of charity. I hope this point of view doesn't catch on.
replies(1): >>42173484 #
1. sodality2 ◴[18 Nov 24 15:47 UTC] No.42173484[source]▶
To draw this parallel situation, you're stipulating a few things: microbes feel pain, X good is as good as X bad is bad, and that actively bringing about a good thing is equivalent to avoiding a harmful thing. I don't think any of these are true, so I disagree.
replies(1): >>42182568 #
2. rep_lodsb ◴[19 Nov 24 12:10 UTC] No.42182568[source]▶
But what if the person you murder will be responsible for the suffering of billions of shrimp? Or argues convincingly against Effective Altruism?

The reason nobody actually does this, is that EA is a belief system adopted by (at least) comfortably well-off Silicon Valley people to make themselves feel better about their effect on society. If there is a 0.00001% chance they can prevent AI MegaHitler, everything they do to make more money is justified.