Humanity in a Thousand Years with Will MacAskill (S3 Ep.29)
Sep 4, 2022
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Will MacAskill, associate professor of philosophy at Oxford University, discusses various topics including moral obligations, population ethics, wealth inequality, AI futures, and the trade-off between economic growth and future interests. They also explore the impact of human extinction, the Repugnant Conclusion, the ethics of abortion, China's influence, moral progress, and the role of AI.
We have a moral obligation to consider the well-being of future generations and weigh it against present-day concerns.
The concept of population ethics prompts us to consider the potential consequences of our actions on the billions of humans who will be born in the future.
The role of economic growth in humanity's long-term future needs to be balanced with present-day wealth inequality.
Deep dives
Importance of Considering Future Generations
The podcast episode discusses the moral obligation we have towards future generations and the importance of weighing those obligations against present-day concerns. It explores the concept of population ethics and the potential consequences of our actions on the billions of humans that will be born in the future. The episode also touches on the role of economic growth in humanity's long-term future and the need to balance it with present-day wealth inequality. The ethics of abortion, the notion of moral progress, and the potential impact of AI on future societies are also discussed.
The Significance of Long-Term Thinking
The podcast episode emphasizes the importance of considering the long-term implications of our actions and decisions. It highlights the fact that the future will likely contain a significantly larger population than the present and that their well-being should be taken into account. The episode explores the philosophical view that two lives are twice as important as one and the potential implications of this perspective on the future. It also raises questions about the economic end of history and discusses the trade-off between redistribution and growth in ensuring a better future for all.
The Threats to Moral Progress and Future Survival
The podcast episode raises concerns about the potential dangers to moral progress and the survival of humanity. It discusses the risk of ideologies that could impose a single set of values globally and the impact of technologies like AI on political stability and moral change. The episode also highlights the importance of preventing human extinction and the need for global cooperation to reduce the risk of war, pandemics, and other existential threats. It explores the potential homogeneity of culture and its impact on moral progress, emphasizing the value in preserving diverse perspectives for a better future.
The Ethics of Abortion and Future Lives
The podcast episode explores the ethics of abortion, focusing on the concept of personhood and the importance of future lives. It discusses how a fetus, while human, lacks the attributes associated with personhood like beliefs and emotions. The speaker highlights the strong concern for future people and their interests, raising questions about how this attitude aligns with one's stance on abortion. The speaker personally supports a woman's ability to terminate her pregnancy, distinguishing between killing a person and preventing the existence of a future person.
Economic Growth and Obligations to the Future
The podcast episode delves into the relationship between economic growth and our obligations to future generations. It acknowledges the tensions created by climate change and the trade-offs between present and future interests. The conversation references the book 'Stubborn Attachments' and raises the question of whether we owe the future a higher rate of GDP. While acknowledging the benefits of technological progress and economic growth, the speaker highlights the limitations of continuous growth and emphasizes the dangers of technological stagnation. The perspective on economic growth and its impact on future well-being is examined in the context of the potential AI scenarios.
My guest today is Will MacAskill. Will is an associate professor of philosophy at Oxford University. He is the co-founder and president of the Centre for Effective Altruism. Will is also the director of the Forethought Foundation for Global Priorities Research.
In this episode, we discuss his new book "What We Owe the Future". We talk about whether we have a moral obligation to the billions of humans that will be born in the next several 1000 years, and how to weigh those obligations against those of living humans. We discuss population ethics in general, and Derek Parfit's Repugnant Conclusion thought experiment. We discuss the role of economic growth in humanity's long-term future and how to weigh that against present-day wealth inequality. We talk about the ethics of abortion, and the notion of moral progress. We also discuss the possible AI futures that lie ahead of us and much more.
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