“Addressing challenges for s-risk reduction: Toward positive common-ground proxies” by Teo Ajantaival
1. Introduction One of the most reasonable ethical aims from a variety of perspectives is to focus on s-risk reduction, namely on steering the future away from paths that would entail vastly more suffering than Earth so far. The research field of s-risk reduction faces many challenges, such as narrow associations to particular ethical views, perceived tensions with other ethical aims, and a deep mismatch with the kinds of goals that most naturally motivate us. Additionally, even if one strongly endorses the goal of s-risk reduction in theory, there is often great uncertainty about what pursuing this goal might entail in practice. To address these challenges, here I aim to briefly: Highlight how s-risk reduction can be highly valuable from a wide range of perspectives, not just suffering-focused ones. (§2) Address perceived tensions between s-risk reduction and other aims, such as reducing extinction risk or near-term suffering. While [...] ---Outline:(02:19) 2. Common ground(03:56) 2.1. Better lotteries(05:33) 2.2. Shared risk factors(08:31) 2.3. Staying safe(11:12) 3. Need for proxies(13:20) 3.1. Positive for motivation(14:59) 3.2. Positive for coordination and shared aims(15:51) 3.3. Positive for measurability(16:59) 4. Promising proxies(19:29) 4.1. General proxies(23:18) 4.2. Personal proxies(31:25) Acknowledgments(31:38) Appendix: Longer motivation tableThe original text contained 30 footnotes which were omitted from this narration. --- First published: March 22nd, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/KS4A6999camWTXATw/addressing-challenges-for-s-risk-reduction-toward-positive --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO. ---Images from the article:Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.