Call for Abstracts: The International Journal of Ethics Leadership
A growing number of AI researchers, tech CEOs, and Silicon Valley billionaires argue that artificial general intelligence (AGI) should replace humanity in the coming years or decades. The 2024 Turing Award winner, Richard Sutton, claims that “succession to AI is inevitable,” while the cofounder of Google, Larry Page, argues that “digital life is the natural and desirable next step in … cosmic evolution.” When Peter Thiel was asked in a recent New York Times interview whether humanity should persist, he hesitated.
The aim of this special issue is to explore the ethics of “pro-extinctionist” views within the tech world, along with the political, economic, and cultural implications of these views. It will explicitly focus on the normative claims of such leaders: that we ought to replace our species with AGI in the near future. Central questions include, but are not limited to: What is morally wrong with advocating for near-term human extinction? What is most problematic about current efforts to replace humanity with AGI in the coming decades? Who benefits from such rhetoric? How could pro-extinctionist ideologies further consolidate power in the hands of a few? And how can the push to replace our species be effectively countered?
The International Journal of Ethical Leadership calls for paper abstracts on one or more of these topics:
- The ethics of pro-extinctionist ideologies.
- The moral reasons for preserving our species, at least within the foreseeable future.
- The ways in which Silicon Valley pro-extinctionism can be effectively countered.
- The ways in which these ideas intersect with people’s lives, including but not limited to: the role of AI technologies in everyday life; their impact on the environment; their role in the economy; and the policy choices shaping AI research and development.
- The ways in which Silicon Valley pro-extinctionists understand value, and whether they oversimplify the axiological importance of our species.
- The ways in which pro-extinctionism intersects with other trendy views in Silicon Valley, such as pronatalism, white and/or Christian nationalism, and “digital eugenics.”
- The problematic ways pro-extinctionist views are expressed and promoted by Silicon Valley luminaries.
- Other topics relating to pro-extinctionist visions of the future, including the possibility of creating a new “posthuman” species through genetic engineering and synthetic biology.
Submit your abstracts (100 to 350 words) by October 31 via this website: https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/ijel/. If you need a deadline extension, or have trouble creating an account to submit your abstract, please contact Dr. Émile Torres at philosop...@gmail.com. We’re happy to accommodate those who require an extra week or so!
