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Thanks for explaining why this is an apocalyptic religion. It's all there: - reliance on apocalyptic fantasies to defend unethical decisions (while actual suff

Thanks for explaining why this is an apocalyptic religion. It's all there: - reliance on apocalyptic fantasies to defend unethical decisions (while actual suffering and real threats flourish) - inability to comprehend pragmatic humanistic and ethical thinking unless it's justified by irrational utopian fantasies (e.g. space civilization) It's some kind of a perverse attempt to define agnostic morals. But sincerely, I don't even believe that - it's more like a modern scam religion to distract from actual problems. E.g, AI could be used to limit resource consumption, provide efficient public transport, feed the world. Instead it'll be used to maximize resource consumption of rich people (cough, autonomous self-driving electric cars, but not for everyone...)

helen___keller 3y ago
> it's more like a modern scam religion to distract from actual problems. This is more or less how I feel. I’m sure some (most?) proponents of longtermism genuinely agree with the philosophy. But then, it’s a time honored tradition of the rich and powerful to soothe their conscience with philosophies that conveniently paint their actions and power as a moral good. One thing I’ve learned in life is that brilliant folks are more than capable of convincing themselves of what they want to believe, whether or not it sounds compelling to someone outside their bubble.