I’d say that whether or not it’s in a simulation doesn’t matter. If the beings you created were recognizable as people (human or otherwise) then they have rights and you’d be trampling those rights if you ended their existence. The creation of such life should not be done without an appropriate sense of responsibility.
Why? I’m not trolling, I just really think it’s interesting where people think “rights” come from. Some people think they come from God. Which is great, because in this scenario we are God. So anything we do is ethical because we did it.
I contend they come from States. Because I notice that rights are different in different States. And I don’t think a god would obey jurisdiction.
Another way of saying this is that the beings themselves have to recognize and demand rights. Because a state is just people deciding things after all.
So where do the rights come from? Are they a legal/socail construct, or inherent in the universe some how? Some third thing I didn’t think of?
People forget how scary the real world is. We are the only creatures to create this concept of rights. You think that grizzly bear cares about your rights? Got some news for you…
And shit, even we don’t respect other people’s right to exist.
:: gestures very very briefly to… EVERYTHING going on right now::
You think the asteroid that ended 90+% of life on earth cared about the dinosaurs’ rights?
All that being said, I wouldn’t be able to pull the plug.
I wouldn’t want to shut down the simulation, but it would depend on the energy expenditure. A hospital could theoretically save more people if they allocated fifty million dollars per patient. A person’s right to life is contingent on the cost to maintain it.
I am of the opinion that rights come from understanding, that recognizing and respecting them is a hallmark of advancing human understanding. States/religions/whatever that lack rights are either less advanced in understanding or motivated to avoid recognizing/respecting them.
I’d say that whether or not it’s in a simulation doesn’t matter. If the beings you created were recognizable as people (human or otherwise) then they have rights and you’d be trampling those rights if you ended their existence. The creation of such life should not be done without an appropriate sense of responsibility.
Why? I’m not trolling, I just really think it’s interesting where people think “rights” come from. Some people think they come from God. Which is great, because in this scenario we are God. So anything we do is ethical because we did it.
I contend they come from States. Because I notice that rights are different in different States. And I don’t think a god would obey jurisdiction.
Another way of saying this is that the beings themselves have to recognize and demand rights. Because a state is just people deciding things after all.
So where do the rights come from? Are they a legal/socail construct, or inherent in the universe some how? Some third thing I didn’t think of?
People forget how scary the real world is. We are the only creatures to create this concept of rights. You think that grizzly bear cares about your rights? Got some news for you…
And shit, even we don’t respect other people’s right to exist.
:: gestures very very briefly to… EVERYTHING going on right now::
You think the asteroid that ended 90+% of life on earth cared about the dinosaurs’ rights?
All that being said, I wouldn’t be able to pull the plug.
I wouldn’t want to shut down the simulation, but it would depend on the energy expenditure. A hospital could theoretically save more people if they allocated fifty million dollars per patient. A person’s right to life is contingent on the cost to maintain it.
Good call, I didn’t consider power consumption. I agree with you.
I am of the opinion that rights come from understanding, that recognizing and respecting them is a hallmark of advancing human understanding. States/religions/whatever that lack rights are either less advanced in understanding or motivated to avoid recognizing/respecting them.