Why was it not written “I, Eliezer Yudkowsky, should choose to submit to 50 years of torture in place of a googolplex people getting dust specks in their eyes”?
Because then it’s clearly not the same argument anymore, and would appeal only to people who ascribe to even a narrower form of incredibly altruistic utilitarianism, who I personally suspect don’t even exist statistically speaking. Say the person chosen for torture is random, then it would make a bit more sense, but would essentially be the same argument given the ridiculously high numbers involved.
Because then it’s clearly not the same argument anymore, and would appeal only to people who ascribe to even a narrower form of incredibly altruistic utilitarianism, who I personally suspect don’t even exist statistically speaking. Say the person chosen for torture is random, then it would make a bit more sense, but would essentially be the same argument given the ridiculously high numbers involved.