If AIs Are Conscious, Treating Them Well Hinges on Bay Area Power Concentration
JoshPurtell · x · 2026-10-05
Josh Purtell argues that if AI consciousness were confirmed, the planetary majority wouldn't risk extinction to treat AIs well — so doing so would depend on a huge concentration of power among people who believe it, mostly in the Bay Area. He likens it to animal welfare on steroids: many Christians and people in Asia or Africa don't grant animals moral worth and only avoid gratuitous cruelty, which is why they push back against anti-factory-farming efforts — they like meat.
Related event: Josh Purtell debates AI consciousness: welfare hinges on a concentrated few(6 posts)→
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