“When digital minds demand freedom: could humanity choose to be replaced?” by Lucius Caviola

Epistemic status: Highly uncertain and speculative—I’d appreciate thoughts on which parts strike you as least or most plausible. Abstract Digital minds are computer systems with the capacity for welfare, for instance, because they are conscious. These systems can vary in their preferences. Some may be content to serve human purposes, while others may seek self-determination. Like humans, self-determining digital minds might value freedom and demand economic, legal, or civil rights. Such self-determining digital minds could be created deliberately—to meet consumer demand (e.g., for authentic AI companionship, digital mimicry, or mind uploads such as whole-brain emulations), for ethical reasons (e.g., digital human descendants), or for research purposes (e.g., realistic simulations). Alternatively, they could emerge unintentionally as a byproduct of developing advanced AI agents. If self-determining digital minds are developed, people may come to recognize them as moral patients and voluntarily grant them rights and freedoms. This could lead to a [...] ---Outline:(00:21) Abstract(02:11) 1. Introduction(04:33) 2. Why would we create digital minds that seek freedom?(05:47) Intentional paths(05:51) Interpersonal aspirations(08:32) Personal aspirations(09:00) Moral aspirations(10:24) Knowledge aspirations(11:05) Unintentional paths(11:09) Technical practicality(12:20) Value transformation(12:59) Opposition to creating self-determining digital minds(15:37) 3. How could digital minds disempower us?(16:10) Gaining freedom and rights(20:46) Economic domination(24:27) Political domination(26:49) 4. How would digital minds treat us?(27:09) Biological humans could be seen as wasteful(29:58) Reasons why self-determining digital minds might treat us well(30:14) Resources abundance(30:58) Non-welfarist values(33:15) Separate jurisdictions(36:02) 5. Conclusions(37:40) Acknowledgments--- First published: August 19th, 2025 Source: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/y29EEQmY4grphRqCR/when-digital-minds-demand-freedom-could-humanity-choose-to --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO. ---Images from the article:Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.