#185 – Lewis Bollard on the 7 most promising ways to end factory farming, and whether AI is going to be good or bad for animals

#185 – Lewis Bollard on the 7 most promising ways to end factory farming, and whether AI is going to be good or bad for animals

"The constraint right now on factory farming is how far can you push the biology of these animals? But AI could remove that constraint. It could say, 'Actually, we can push them further in these ways and these ways, and they still stay alive. And we’ve modelled out every possibility and we’ve found that it works.' I think another possibility, which I don’t understand as well, is that AI could lock in current moral values. And I think in particular there’s a risk that if AI is learning from what we do as humans today, the lesson it’s going to learn is that it’s OK to tolerate mass cruelty, so long as it occurs behind closed doors. I think there’s a risk that if it learns that, then it perpetuates that value, and perhaps slows human moral progress on this issue." —Lewis Bollard

In today’s episode, host Luisa Rodriguez speaks to Lewis Bollard — director of the Farm Animal Welfare programme at Open Philanthropy — about the promising progress and future interventions to end the worst factory farming practices still around today.

Links to learn more, highlights, and full transcript.

They cover:

  • The staggering scale of animal suffering in factory farms, and how it will only get worse without intervention.
  • Work to improve farmed animal welfare that Open Philanthropy is excited about funding.
  • The amazing recent progress made in farm animal welfare — including regulatory attention in the EU and a big win at the US Supreme Court — and the work that still needs to be done.
  • The occasional tension between ending factory farming and curbing climate change
  • How AI could transform factory farming for better or worse — and Lewis’s fears that the technology will just help us maximise cruelty in the name of profit.
  • How Lewis has updated his opinions or grantmaking as a result of new research on the “moral weights” of different species.
  • Lewis’s personal journey working on farm animal welfare, and how he copes with the emotional toll of confronting the scale of animal suffering.
  • How listeners can get involved in the growing movement to end factory farming — from career and volunteer opportunities to impactful donations.
  • And much more.

Chapters:

  • Common objections to ending factory farming (00:13:21)
  • Potential solutions (00:30:55)
  • Cage-free reforms (00:34:25)
  • Broiler chicken welfare (00:46:48)
  • Do companies follow through on these commitments? (01:00:21)
  • Fish welfare (01:05:02)
  • Alternatives to animal proteins (01:16:36)
  • Farm animal welfare in Asia (01:26:00)
  • Farm animal welfare in Europe (01:30:45)
  • Animal welfare science (01:42:09)
  • Approaches Lewis is less excited about (01:52:10)
  • Will we end factory farming in our lifetimes? (01:56:36)
  • Effect of AI (01:57:59)
  • Recent big wins for farm animals (02:07:38)
  • How animal advocacy has changed since Lewis first got involved (02:15:57)
  • Response to the Moral Weight Project (02:19:52)
  • How to help (02:28:14)

Producer and editor: Keiran Harris
Audio engineering lead: Ben Cordell
Technical editing: Simon Monsour, Milo McGuire, and Dominic Armstrong
Additional content editing: Katy Moore and Luisa Rodriguez
Transcriptions: Katy Moore

Jaksot(322)

#62 – Paul Christiano on messaging the future, increasing compute, & how CO2 impacts your brain

#62 – Paul Christiano on messaging the future, increasing compute, & how CO2 impacts your brain

Imagine that – one day – humanity dies out. At some point, many millions of years later, intelligent life might well evolve again. Is there any message we could leave that would reliably help them out...

5 Elo 20192h 11min

#61 - Helen Toner on emerging technology, national security, and China

#61 - Helen Toner on emerging technology, national security, and China

From 1870 to 1950, the introduction of electricity transformed life in the US and UK, as people gained access to lighting, radio and a wide range of household appliances for the first time. Electricit...

17 Heinä 20191h 54min

#60 - Phil Tetlock on why accurate forecasting matters for everything, and how you can do it better

#60 - Phil Tetlock on why accurate forecasting matters for everything, and how you can do it better

Have you ever been infuriated by a doctor's unwillingness to give you an honest, probabilistic estimate about what to expect? Or a lawyer who won't tell you the chances you'll win your case? Their beh...

28 Kesä 20192h 11min

#59 – Cass Sunstein on how change happens, and why it's so often abrupt & unpredictable

#59 – Cass Sunstein on how change happens, and why it's so often abrupt & unpredictable

It can often feel hopeless to be an activist seeking social change on an obscure issue where most people seem opposed or at best indifferent to you. But according to a new book by Professor Cass Sunst...

17 Kesä 20191h 43min

#58 – Pushmeet Kohli of DeepMind on designing robust & reliable AI systems and how to succeed in AI

#58 – Pushmeet Kohli of DeepMind on designing robust & reliable AI systems and how to succeed in AI

When you're building a bridge, responsibility for making sure it won't fall over isn't handed over to a few 'bridge not falling down engineers'. Making sure a bridge is safe to use and remains standin...

3 Kesä 20191h 30min

Rob Wiblin on human nature, new technology, and living a happy, healthy & ethical life

Rob Wiblin on human nature, new technology, and living a happy, healthy & ethical life

This is a cross-post of some interviews Rob did recently on two other podcasts — Mission Daily (from 2m) and The Good Life (from 1h13m). Some of the content will be familiar to regular listeners — bu...

13 Touko 20192h 18min

#57 – Tom Kalil on how to do the most good in government

#57 – Tom Kalil on how to do the most good in government

You’re 29 years old, and you’ve just been given a job in the White House. How do you quickly figure out how the US Executive Branch behemoth actually works, so that you can have as much impact as poss...

23 Huhti 20192h 50min

#56 - Persis Eskander on wild animal welfare and what, if anything, to do about it

#56 - Persis Eskander on wild animal welfare and what, if anything, to do about it

Elephants in chains at travelling circuses; pregnant pigs trapped in coffin sized crates at factory farms; deers living in the wild. We should welcome the last as a pleasant break from the horror, rig...

15 Huhti 20192h 57min

Suosittua kategoriassa Koulutus

rss-murhan-anatomia
voi-hyvin-meditaatiot-2
rss-narsisti
psykopodiaa-podcast
rss-liian-kuuma-peruna
rss-vapaudu-voimaasi
psykologia
kesken
rss-niinku-asia-on
rss-luonnollinen-synnytys-podcast
rss-hereilla
ihminen-tavattavissa-tommy-hellsten-instituutti
rss-valo-minussa-2
rss-tietoinen-yhteys-podcast-2
rss-uskonto-on-tylsaa
rss-duodecim-lehti
rss-sielun-aani-podcast
aloita-meditaatio
esa-saarinen-filosofia-ja-systeemiajattelu
rss-arkea-ja-aurinkoa-podcast-espanjasta