Making Concern for Suffering Common Knowledge

02.10.2026David Veldran

Posted in Cooperation, Politics, Suffering-Focused Ethics. Tagged cause prioritization.

Often, what matters is not simply what people know, but what they know others know. When something is common knowledge, everyone knows it, everyone knows that everyone knows it, everyone knows that, and so on.

A classic illustration is in The Emperor’s New Clothes: everyone can see that the emperor is naked, but no one wants to be the first to say so, fearing that others will regard them as foolish. Because they aren’t sure that others can see the same thing, everyone continues pretending that the emperor is clothed. Only when a child finally speaks up and the crowd begins repeating the observation does it become common knowledge, allowing everyone to openly challenge the pretense. [...]

Five Questions About Wild Animal Suffering

27.05.2026David Veldran

Posted in Cause prioritisation. Tagged cause prioritization, Ethics, wild animal suffering.

In the wild, life is often far harsher than we tend to imagine. Many animals face constant threats—hunger, disease, injury, predation, and exposure—and a large number die young, often in prolonged and painful ways. Given the vast number of animals living in these conditions, this suffering may exist on an enormous scale, yet it remains largely overlooked.

Why is this? Is it justified? And what, if anything, should we do about wild animal suffering (WAS)? To help us answer this, let us turn to five questions that get at the heart of the issue. [...]

Should Suffering-Reducers Focus on AI?

04.04.2026David Veldran

Posted in AI, Cause prioritisation. Tagged artificial intelligence, cause prioritization.

If we want to reduce suffering over the long term, should AI be a top priority? As capabilities advance and talk of AGI and the singularity fills the airwaves, some argue we should focus heavily on AI. Others are skeptical. In their view, steering AI may be just one important cause among many—and prioritizing it risks neglecting more reliable ways of reducing suffering. Who is right?

Pro

The strongest case for focusing on AI begins with the claim that it could be a genuine hinge-of-history technology—not just another tool, but something with imminent world-shaping potential. If we reach human-level or superhuman systems, the paradigm of “smart” humans controlling “dumb” tools would be over. If that happens, all bets are off, but it seems reasonable to expect tremendous impacts. [...]