> Longtermism should not be confused with “long-term thinking.” It goes way beyond the observation that our society is dangerously myopic, and that we should care about future generations no less than present ones. At the heart of this worldview, as delineated by Bostrom, is the idea that what matters most is for “Earth-originating intelligent life” to fulfill its potential in the cosmos. What exactly is “our potential”? As I have noted elsewhere, it involves subjugating nature, maximizing economic productivity, replacing humanity with a superior “posthuman” species, colonizing the universe, and ultimately creating an unfathomably huge population of conscious beings living what Bostrom describes as “rich and happy lives” inside high-resolution computer simulations.
> This is what “our potential” consists of, and it constitutes the ultimate aim toward which humanity as a whole, and each of us as individuals, are morally obligated to strive.
I do not believe that this is either obvious, an accurate generalization of longtermism or backed by references (did I miss one?)
There is a (much) longer essay linked where she says "noted elsewhere" where she explains what she thinks about it. I'm not going to read that. And I'm definitely as confused as you are on certain passages of the page I posted
Don't worry, it's a long article itself and it's absolutely normal to be confused. Hell, I'm taking an ethics course and after a few months it's still hard for me to grasp some concepts. I haven't read that either and don't plan to, for now
> This is what “our potential” consists of, and it constitutes the ultimate aim toward which humanity as a whole, and each of us as individuals, are morally obligated to strive.
I do not believe that this is either obvious, an accurate generalization of longtermism or backed by references (did I miss one?)
EDIT: Did miss the "noted elsewhere" link (pdf): https://c8df8822-f112-4676-8332-ad89713358e3.filesusr.com/ug...