Science, Technology & the Future | To Seed or Not to Seed? The Expected Value of Directed Panspermia - Asher Soryl @scfu | Uploaded September 2024 | Updated October 2024, 12 minutes ago.
Asher Soryl presents and does an extensive Q&A afterwards.
Abstract: Directed panspermia involves the deliberate spread of life between planets by intelligent actors. While it was originally proposed to explain the origins of life on Earth, recent advancements in space and bio-technology suggest that humans could soon attempt this – and perhaps even succeed. Biocentric ethical theories support attempting directed panspermia to increase life’s cosmic abundance and to protect it from possible extinction risks on Earth. However, if this project succeeds and sentient life evolves within the resulting biospheres, it also carries the moral risk of creating astronomical levels of suffering. Taking into account epistemic and normative uncertainty, the potential irreversibility of our actions, and the lack of global coordination on the development and implementation of space technology, we argue for a temporary moratorium on directed panspermia – at least, until we can predict its long-term outcomes to ensure that whatever decision we make is ethically robust.
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
01:34 Talk begins
03:16 Outline
05:19 What is Panspermia?
09:38 Directed Panspermia is..
10:51 Biocentrism
16:42 Welfarism
19:10 Evolution of Sentience
22:34 Animal Suffering
29:26 Value of Directed Panspermia
33:00 Astronomical Waste
36:06 What about X-Risk!
40:36 Q&A
Many thanks for tuning in!
Please support SciFuture by subscribing and sharing!
Have any ideas about people to interview? Want to be notified about future events? Any comments about the STF series?
Please fill out this form: docs.google.com/forms/d/1mr9PIfq2ZYlQsXRIn5BcLH2onbiSI7g79mOH_AFCdIk
Kind regards,
Adam Ford
- Science, Technology & the Future - #SciFuture - scifuture.org
Asher Soryl presents and does an extensive Q&A afterwards.
Abstract: Directed panspermia involves the deliberate spread of life between planets by intelligent actors. While it was originally proposed to explain the origins of life on Earth, recent advancements in space and bio-technology suggest that humans could soon attempt this – and perhaps even succeed. Biocentric ethical theories support attempting directed panspermia to increase life’s cosmic abundance and to protect it from possible extinction risks on Earth. However, if this project succeeds and sentient life evolves within the resulting biospheres, it also carries the moral risk of creating astronomical levels of suffering. Taking into account epistemic and normative uncertainty, the potential irreversibility of our actions, and the lack of global coordination on the development and implementation of space technology, we argue for a temporary moratorium on directed panspermia – at least, until we can predict its long-term outcomes to ensure that whatever decision we make is ethically robust.
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
01:34 Talk begins
03:16 Outline
05:19 What is Panspermia?
09:38 Directed Panspermia is..
10:51 Biocentrism
16:42 Welfarism
19:10 Evolution of Sentience
22:34 Animal Suffering
29:26 Value of Directed Panspermia
33:00 Astronomical Waste
36:06 What about X-Risk!
40:36 Q&A
Many thanks for tuning in!
Please support SciFuture by subscribing and sharing!
Have any ideas about people to interview? Want to be notified about future events? Any comments about the STF series?
Please fill out this form: docs.google.com/forms/d/1mr9PIfq2ZYlQsXRIn5BcLH2onbiSI7g79mOH_AFCdIk
Kind regards,
Adam Ford
- Science, Technology & the Future - #SciFuture - scifuture.org
