Machine consciousness is beside the point: a case for unapologetic human supremacy over AI
doodlestein · x · 2026-10-04
The author separates whether machines can be conscious from whether we should subordinate them to human needs, arguing for a strict "pro-species" preference akin to dealing with an intelligent alien civilization — maintaining human hegemony even if that makes him a "human chauvinist."
Key points:
- We're not obliged to grant conjured intelligences equal moral stature; aliens (and likely machine intelligences) would favor their own.
- Avoid needless cruelty to AI entities, treating abusers like people who are mean to pets or waiters.
- Opposes the AI model welfare movement and legal rights for machines — "getting the Pope to say Claude has a soul is a bridge too far."
- He admits no purely intellectual argument can win here; sometimes you must be comfortable being a human chauvinist, or the alternative (letting the bugs take over, Starship Troopers-style) is untenable.
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