@jeffsebo.bsky.social
Associate Professor of Environmental Studies, Director of the Center for Environmental and Animal Protection, Director of the Center for Mind, Ethics, and Policy, and Co-Director of the Wild Animal Welfare Program, New York University. jeffsebo.net
I wrote about the race to stop octopus farming before it starts. This issue has been covered a fair amount, so I wanted to look at one under-covered aspect of it -- why do so many people who study octopuses, and are fascinated by them, support farming them?
04.12.2025 20:20 — 👍 28 🔁 13 💬 2 📌 2Peter did an excellent job on this interview! And props to Ronny Chieng for single-handedly introducing shrimp welfare *and* AI safety to a broad audience :)
04.12.2025 13:34 — 👍 9 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0So great to see philosophy friend and @wwnorton.com -mate @jeffsebo.bsky.social on the list of 2025 best books from the New Yorker!
03.12.2025 21:24 — 👍 8 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0thanks so much for flagging this - not sure i would have noticed otherwise! congrats on all your book's success as well :)
03.12.2025 22:24 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
the moral circle is now available in paperback for the low price of $12! an excellent holiday gift for all the near-future insect and AI welfare advocates in your life :)
03.12.2025 16:27 — 👍 15 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0
the moral circle is now available in paperback for the low price of $12! an excellent holiday gift for all the near-future insect and AI welfare advocates in your life :)
03.12.2025 16:27 — 👍 15 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0
The 4th Helsinki #AnimalLaw Conference will be June 9–10 at @helsinki.fi, with a PhD workshop on June 8.
Submit abstracts for the conference or the workshop by Jan 31 ➡ www.helsinki.fi/en/researchg...
Keynote speakers include @jeffsebo.bsky.social & @annepetersmpil.bsky.social.
Fascinating exploration of how to make evidence-based decisions about allocating time and resources to invertebrate welfare
@jeffsebo.bsky.social
4/ Each dollar donated will, in expectation, spare 1,500 individual shrimps per year from a slow and painful death by asphyxiation. All donations using the code 'shrimpact_debate' will be matched by 50% until the end of Giving Tuesday (December 2).
Please consider donating, and please share!
3/ If you found my argument persuasive (or if you support the motion on other grounds), then you can participate in International Shrimpact Day™ by donating to the Shrimp Welfare Project via the FarmKind campaign here:
www.farmkind.giving/internationa...
2/ I argued that since we kill hundreds of billions of captive shrimps and tens of trillions of wild shrimps each year, we should allocate time and money toward researching and improving shrimp welfare in a precautionary spirit.
27.11.2025 14:05 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
1/ To celebrate International Shrimpact Day™, I debated Lyman Stone on the motion "Donating to help shrimp is a good idea", with Peter Singer moderating. I was in favor, Lyman was opposed. You can view the debate here:
boldreasoningwithpetersinger.substack.com/p/debate-to-...
Happy shrimpact week! Today at 5pm ET, Lyman Stone and I will debate the merits of donating to help shrimp, with @petersinger.info moderating. And if you already agree with the pro side, a donor will match up to $50,000 for the Shrimp Welfare Project all week!
www.farmkind.giving/internationa...
Excited to be keynoting the 2026 Helsinki Animal Law Conference in June! My talk will build on my recent law review article about legal personhood for animals and AI systems. You can submit an abstract at the link below if you might like to participate!
www.helsinki.fi/en/researchg...
Recommended in this weekend's Tidings newsletter: @jeffsebo.bsky.social and Andreas Mogensen in @aeon.co on how to think about our obligations to other entities, from ants to AI. aeon.co/essays/an-an...
24.11.2025 15:07 — 👍 3 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0Crowdsourcing request!
The NYU Wild Animal Welfare Program will be creating sample syllabi as a community resource, starting with four courses:
- Wild animal biology
- Wild animal ecology
- Wild animal ethics
- Wild animal law
Please share topics and readings for any or all!
amazing how easily people are able to call out the cruelty of livestock farming—"rights stripped," "dignity destroyed," "dominate with violence"—when the topic is "comparing humans to livestock." if only it were so easy when the topic is "farming livestock."
20.11.2025 01:37 — 👍 11 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Why do animal health and welfare matter for sustainable development? Ahead of UNEA-7, this webinar will preview findings from a new SEI–NYU report outlining practical pathways for integrating animal health and welfare into future global development frameworks. Join us!
www.sei.org/events/anima...
Read this:
18.11.2025 18:51 — 👍 4 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0I have a new paper on the legal status of insects and AI systems in Animal Law! I argue that our current framework for legal personhood, coupled with our current framework for risk and uncertainty, imply that we should treat these beings as legal persons.
law.lclark.edu/live/files/3...
The NYU Center for Mind, Ethics, and Policy is thrilled to be hosting John Adenitire and Raffael Fasel for a talk on animals and the constitution! The talk will take place online December 3 at 12pm ET. All are welcome. Please join us, and please share!
sites.google.com/nyu.edu/mind...
Today in @aeon.co Andreas Mogensen and I discuss animal welfare, AI welfare, and probabilistic ethics. We make the case for addressing the moral status of animals and AI systems as we address health, climate, and other big issues: with probabilistic reasoning and proportional responses.
10.11.2025 13:03 — 👍 19 🔁 12 💬 2 📌 1
The NYU Wild Animal Welfare Program is thrilled to be hosting a panel on regulating the wild pet trade, with Becca Franks, Liz Holtz, and NYC Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal! Nov 14 4pm ET, hybrid event, vegan reception for in-person guests. Join us!
sites.google.com/nyu.edu/wild...
Yes, this is an important factor. As we note in the essay, risk assessments need to consider both probability and magnitude of harm. That means considering the probability that an ant can suffer *and* how much they can suffer, if at all. We focus more on probability here only for space reasons.
10.11.2025 15:08 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Link: aeon.co/essays/an-an...
10.11.2025 13:03 — 👍 4 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
Today in @aeon.co Andreas Mogensen and I discuss animal welfare, AI welfare, and probabilistic ethics. We make the case for addressing the moral status of animals and AI systems as we address health, climate, and other big issues: with probabilistic reasoning and proportional responses.
10.11.2025 13:03 — 👍 19 🔁 12 💬 2 📌 1
In my brief keynote remarks at the recent AI, Animals, and Digital Minds Conference, I discuss the theoretical and practical value of integrating animal welfare research and AI welfare research in some contexts, even if we separate them in others.
youtu.be/ak3WuQhtoW4?...
"The Moral Circle deserves great praise for its clear and engaging style, its humor and witty thought experiments, and its accessible introduction to a range of complex philosophical issues."
Thanks to Nicolas Delon for such a kind and thoughtful review!
www.tandfonline.com/eprint/5D2UW...
Our NYU event with @christinewebb.bsky.social on human exceptionalism in the sciences is now online! Please watch and share if you have interest :)
youtube.com/watch?v=aAvhiumVJJI&feature=youtu.be
"The Moral Circle deserves great praise for its clear and engaging style, its humor and witty thought experiments, and its accessible introduction to a range of complex philosophical issues."
Thanks to Nicolas Delon for such a kind and thoughtful review!
www.tandfonline.com/eprint/5D2UW...
