Risk of astronomical suffering
[10] Additionally, s-risks might arise incidentally, such as through AI-driven simulations of conscious beings experiencing suffering, or from economic activities that disregard the well-being of nonhuman or digital minds.Additionally, the lack of natural predators or proper biodiversity on colonized planets could worsen the situation, mirroring Earth’s ecological problems on a larger scale.Strategies like a "cosmic Leviathan" to impose order or deterrence policies are unlikely to succeed due to physical limitations in space and the destructive power of future technologies.[16] David Pearce's concept of "cosmic rescue missions" proposes the idea of sending probes to alleviate potential suffering in extraterrestrial environments.[17] However, challenges include the lack of confirmed extraterrestrial life, uncertainty about their consciousness, and public support concerns, with environmentalists advocating for non-interference and others focusing on resource extraction.
sufferingexistential risksartificial intelligencesuperintelligencespace colonizationwild animal sufferingAI ethicsbiological computingsystem designAI alignmentDavid Pearcegenetic engineeringhard problem of consciousnesseradication of sufferingtribalismretributivismHitlerStalinmany-worlds interpretationamnesiabrain organoidsAI control problemEthics of artificial intelligenceEthics of terraformingExistential risk from artificial general intelligenceExperience machineGlobal catastrophic riskSuffering-focused ethicsWaluigi effectWirehead (science fiction)Metzinger, ThomasBBC FutureGlobal catastrophic risksFuture of the EarthFuture of an expanding universeUltimate fate of the universeChemical warfareCyberattackCyberwarfareCyberterrorismCybergeddonGray gooKinetic bombardmentKinetic energy weaponNuclear warfareMutual assured destructionDead HandDoomsday ClockDoomsday deviceAntimatter weaponElectromagnetic pulseSafety of high-energy particle collision experimentsMicro black holeStrangeletSynthetic intelligenceAI takeoverExistential risk from artificial intelligenceTechnological singularityTranshumanismAnthropogenic hazardCollapsologyDoomsday argumentSelf-indication assumption doomsday argument rebuttalSelf-referencing doomsday argument rebuttalEconomic collapseMalthusian catastropheNew World Order (conspiracy theory)Nuclear holocaustcobaltfaminewinterSocietal collapseState collapseWorld War IIIEcologicalClimate changeAnoxic eventBiodiversity lossMass mortality eventCascade effectCataclysmic pole shift hypothesisClimate change and civilizational collapseDeforestationDesertificationExtinction risk from climate changeTipping points in the climate systemFlood basaltGlobal dimmingGlobal terrestrial stillingGlobal warmingHypercaneIce ageEcocideEcological collapseEnvironmental degradationHabitat destructionHuman impact on the environmentcoral reefson marine lifeLand degradationLand consumptionLand surface effects on climateOcean acidificationOzone depletionResource depletionSea level riseSupervolcanoVerneshotWater pollutionWater scarcityEarth Overshoot DayOverexploitationOverpopulationHuman overpopulationExtinctionExtinction eventHolocene extinctionHuman extinctionList of extinction eventsGenetic erosionGenetic pollutionDecline in amphibian populationsDecline in insect populationsBiotechnology riskBiological agentBiological warfare