From Zoë Jewell, Durham, North Carolina, US
I was struck by the juxtaposition of the article on the use of CRISPR technology to create disease-resistant pigs and another piece urging us to consider the welfare of AI chatbots. This highlights a troubling inconsistency in our ethical priorities. On the one hand, we are developing tools to intensify pig production, perpetuating a system where intelligent, emotionally complex beings exist in a living hell. On the other, we debate the rights and welfare of chatbots – entities that currently lack even simple consciousness (28 December 2024, p 12 and p 17).
If we can consider the welfare of artificial entities, surely we can do so for sentient, suffering animals.
