They’re easy to help if their utility functions included terms that outlived them, e.g. “world peace forever”. But it still feels somehow wrong to include them in the calculation, because this will necessarily be at the expense of living and future people.
In my non-professional capacity, when I try to help others, I’m doing so to optimize my utility function over them: I want them to be happy, and only living people can fulfill this aspect of my utility function. It’s in this sense that I say “we should” meaning “altruists should do the analogue for their own utility functions”.
They’re easy to help if their utility functions included terms that outlived them, e.g. “world peace forever”. But it still feels somehow wrong to include them in the calculation, because this will necessarily be at the expense of living and future people.
In my non-professional capacity, when I try to help others, I’m doing so to optimize my utility function over them: I want them to be happy, and only living people can fulfill this aspect of my utility function. It’s in this sense that I say “we should” meaning “altruists should do the analogue for their own utility functions”.