“AI probably won’t make factory farms obsolete” by Hazo

Bentham's Bulldog recently argued that AI won’t definitely make factory farms obsolete. I agree, but I’d go further and argue that by default AI won’t make factory farms obsolete. However, I think it's possible (though not guaranteed) that AI could make factory farms a lot more humane. He throws out an 80% of cultivated meat being developed, and a 70% chance of it displacing factory farms contingent on it being developed. In particular, I think 70% is too optimistic. An 80% chance of cultivated meat being developed contingent on TAI seems reasonable to me, insofar as its possible to forecast such things right now. We currently have no feasible technical roadmap for cultivated meat to be able to create all of the myriad kinds of animal products that people consume today. However, one could plausibly think that TAI means that any technology that's consistent with the laws of physics will become possible. Cultivated meat will be possible in these worlds, and some additional superset of these worlds. However, I’d put a much lower chance of it being adopted in a significant way. To make a very vibesy forecast, I think there's maybe a 40% chance that cultivated [...] --- Outline: (02:11) The worlds in which cultivated meat are possible are also ones in which animal protein is significantly cheaper (04:42) People will choose whichever they want more, and we have no evidence people will want cultivated meat. (06:42) Objections (09:23) AI could make factory farming significantly more humane --- First published: June 23rd, 2026 Source: --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO . --- Images from the article: Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts , or another podcast app.