“What failure looks like for animals” by Alistair Stewart, Nicholas Kees Dupuis

Introduction

Inspired by Paul Christiano's 2019 piece What failure looks like, we sketch a range of ways in which a future with powerful AI may go badly for animals.

We suggest:

1. At some point in the future, AI is likely to become very powerful (e.g. AGI, TAI, ASI).
2. This point may be soon (e.g. by 2030).
3. Powerful AI is likely to have a huge impact on animals.
4. We don’t know what this impact on animals will be, and it could be very bad or catastrophic.

Here are two philosophical assumptions we make for the purposes of this piece:

1. The moral value and relevance of animals derives from their status as sentient individuals. Their membership of a group (like a species), their role in or impact on an ecosystem, or their aesthetic value in the eyes of humans fall outside the scope of this piece.
2. Adopting a pluralistic [...]

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Outline:

(00:11) Introduction

(02:12) Ways things go badly for animals

(08:33) Conclusion

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First published:

September 3rd, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/DHqDsSCCt7udcBYcw/what-failure-looks-like-for-animals

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.