Longtermists argue that the uncountable number of possible future people makes their suffering more important than all living beings put together.
By saying this, they create a utility monster which influences the present retrotemporally toward its own creation. A hyperstition
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For example, creating a superintelligent AI is an existential risk, because It could accidentally or deliberately extinguish our species. Thus no matter what value we ascribe to this AI, it cannot outweigh the near-infinite future lives that might be lost by its creation.
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Other catastrophes will not make us go extinct, but cause great suffering in the present and short-term future. Climate change, ecosystem collapse, nuclear war. These are discounted by longtermists, as whatever fraction of humanity survives will still become near infinite in time
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Since future humans are so valuable in this philosophy, and since this philosophy is popular among the most powerful people in the world, human suffering will continue to rise as the goal of sheer number of humans is maximized.
That is why I'm proposing we kill the future
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It won't be hard. All we have to do is set the intention to have no future.
To commit ourselves to using as much carbon as possible, right now to maximize present human enjoyment. Party, travel, game. Get new clothes and discard old ones. Bedazzle the world with useless bullshit
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We have to set ourselves against the future. Militarize intergenerational conflicts. Learn to hate our descendants, resent them for their implicit demand of existence.
Know that they are the enemy, they want us to suffer and die for their smallest conveniences. They rule us
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We have always been at war with the future
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Replying to
Sounds like you started out serious then ended up doing a bit, but “killing the future” is actually a common collective response to shared trauma. You get hedonistic nihilism in the wake of all big crises that destroy lots of lives. Covid’s is just starting.
Replying to
Oh that's good to know! I'll keep egging it on
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Poe's Law: every joke on the internet will be mistaken for a serious position by somebody.
Fates' Corollary: The more people that make this mistake, the funnier the joke
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