[ryanschneider]

I had a short story idea where explorers come across a planet full of ancient ruins and gentle unintelligent beasts. It turns out that to survive the great filter the sentient life on the planet deprogrammed themselves of all sentience and now the explorers need to decide if they should use the same tech on their own civilization or not.

Kind of your moral question but in reverse.

[glenstein]

That's a fascinating one. May I ask the nature of the great filter in this scenario? I understand the "great filter" can be a variety of different things, such as global warming, discovery and use of nuclear capabilities, or various other existential threats, and different "filters" could require different workarounds.

[dmbche]

Blindsight, by Peter Watts (free to read), is a very interesting read if that's your cup of tea (give it until they reach Big Ben). The book explore how counciousness can present itself. I don't want to spoil it - give it a read!