Your concerns seem to be about action (altering others by spreading information or torturing a simulation) rather than thought (internally considering the consequences of torturing a sim).
This assumes mind-body dualism. It’s a very flawed model of the world. Your body reacts to your thoughts. Not enough for reading your thoughts word for word, but enough that the thoughts matter. If you are with a person and think about causing that person pain, that changes subtle things about your bodylanguage towards that person.
I suppose you’re right: thinking is doing. It’s a lot more quiet than the actions given in the examples, and has correspondingly less capacity for harm.
This assumes mind-body dualism. It’s a very flawed model of the world. Your body reacts to your thoughts. Not enough for reading your thoughts word for word, but enough that the thoughts matter. If you are with a person and think about causing that person pain, that changes subtle things about your bodylanguage towards that person.
I suppose you’re right: thinking is doing. It’s a lot more quiet than the actions given in the examples, and has correspondingly less capacity for harm.