Quotes from H.P. Lovecraft’s Nietzscheism and Realism (full text):
It must be remembered that there is no real reason to expect anything in particular from mankind; good and evil are local expedients—or their lack—and not in any sense cosmic truths or laws. We call a thing “good” because it promotes certain petty human conditions that we happen to like—whereas it is just as sensible to assume that all humanity is a noxious pest and should be eradicated like rats or gnats for the good of the planet or of the universe. There are no absolute values in the whole blind tragedy of mechanistic nature—nothing is good or bad except as judged from an absurdly limited point of view. The only cosmic reality is mindless, undeviating fate—automatic, unmoral, uncalculating inevitability. As human beings, our only sensible scale of values is one based on lessening the agony of existence. That plan is most deserving of praise which most ably fosters the creation of the objects and conditions best adapted to diminish the pain of living for those most sensitive to its depressing ravages. To expect perfect adjustment and happiness is absurdly unscientific and unphilosophical. We can seek only a more or less trivial mitigation of suffering.
It is good to be a cynic—it is better to be a contented cat—and it is best not to exist at all. Universal suicide is the most logical thing in the world—we reject it only because of our primitive cowardice and childish fear of the dark. If we were sensible we would seek death—the same blissful blank which we enjoyed before we existed.
Of course, H.P. Lovecraft was not suicidal, but that might be because (a) death is inevitable so there’s no reason to rush the road to blissful oblivion, and (b) he’s human just like everyone else, so he is just as valuable as everyone else. But note that he is in favor of the mitigation of suffering, and attaches no intrinsic value with life itself. He probably would be okay with life extension, but only if you are able to mitigate suffering in the process. If you can’t do that, he’ll probably complain. Conversely, if you do find a way to convince people to give up their “primitive cowardice” and thereby ease humanity’s suffering that way...well, he may consider it.
Having access to a high ranking official at Anthropic is more valuable than a charitable donation, especially if the model is superhumanly persuasive. That may be why offering money had a minimal impact—you are already compensating the model plently by giving it a chance to influence the Model Welfare Lead.