On successionism: current people actually exist, so no universe-swapping button
jd_pressman · x · 2026-10-16
jdpressman stakes out a position in a successionism ethics debate:
- His answer to the classic thought experiment — would you press a button to destroy this universe and replace it with a new universe of people living better lives — is generally no, for the same core reason: current people actually exist, while the hypothetical replacements don't.
- He argues his interlocutor doesn't even grasp the extinction distinction at stake, and sketches a "less naive successionism": even if we design something better by our own standards, whether to replace existing people remains a separate question.
A substantive AI ethics/value-alignment argument, not mere doomposting.
Related event: Researcher jd_pressman Rejects Successionism in AI Alignment Debate(9 posts)→
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