Animals and Future Technologies

‍‍How to reduce the ethical dangers of AI-assisted farming | Aeon Essays (15 mins) 

This blog post discusses the ethical risks of AI-integrated livestock farming, arguing that automation may intensify the suffering harms of factory farming. Importantly, the authors propose 4 principles to ensure AI enhances– rather than undermines– animal welfare & farmer autonomy, opening up a pathway for animal-positive implementation of PLF technologies. 

Transformative AI and wild animals: An exploration. — EA Forum (15 mins)

• Only read “Asymmetric acceleration and research priorities” through end of post

This post is the Wild Animal Initiative’s first foray into thinking about the intersection of transformative AI (TAI) and wild animal welfare. It explores the near-future implications of TAI on wild animal welfare (WAW), both directly and for scientific research in the field.

Wild animal welfare in the far future — EA Forum (5 mins)

• Summary only

This article discusses why far-future wild animal welfare (WAW) scenarios seem most important from a net-welfare perspective, and what we can do about them.

WAW beyond Earth: Directed Panspermia & Cosmic Rescue Missions (10 mins)

A short introduction to the concepts of “directed panspermia” (intentionally seeding other planets with life-- an action which may be feasible within a matter of years, with potentially extreme ethical implications) and “cosmic rescue missions” (future interventions to relieve the wild suffering that likely already exists beyond Earth).