Currently, the impact of artificial intelligence has expanded from humans to animals. Can AI ethics cross species boundaries? What vigilance should humans maintain towards artificial intelligence? How can the East and the West respond to the challenges brought by artificial intelligence through communication and cooperation? Peter Singer, one of the founders of practical ethics, a professor at Princeton University, and author of "Animal Liberation," recently gave an exclusive interview for interpretation. The summary of the interview transcript is as follows: Reporter: When did animal ethics originate? What are the differences in animal ethics between the East and the West? Peter Singer: Over two thousand years ago, when ethics were extended to other species beyond humans in the West, Eastern Buddhism warned people to have compassion for all things. Confucianism pays relatively less attention to animals because in the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, human responsibilities are prioritized. Firstly, it is responsible to family, neighbors, and compatriots, and then it is the animals' turn. It is widely believed in the West that the ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras was a vegetarian. Some fragments written by Greek writer Plutarch and a paper written by Neoplatonist Porphyry have mentioned this. Ancient Hebrew is one of the important sources of Western culture. The Hebrew Bible contains some teachings on treating animals kindly, such as allowing cows to rest on the Sabbath. But there are also opinions that this regulation is not for the benefit of cows. Christianity believes that God created humans in his own image, excluding other animals and granting humans the power to govern them. Especially under the interpretation of Western philosopher Thomas Aquinas, the Christian viewpoint is even more stringent, directly denying that humans have any responsibility or obligation towards animals. Although history seems to point the origin of animal ethics towards the East, modern animal ethics emerged in the West in the second half of the 20th century. Modern animal ethics is an important component of the revival of applied ethics, which advocates the application of ethics to practical issues in daily life, such as ethical discussions on dietary choices. Nowadays, research on animal ethics in the West is flourishing. Most Western philosophy departments offer courses in practical ethics, which often involve the field of animal ethics. At the same time, the West has also published a large number of books related to animal ethics, further enriching the research content in this field. More importantly, these academic achievements have had a profound impact on people's dietary habits. For example, more and more people are choosing to become vegetarians. In China, the teaching of animal ethics is not yet as widespread as in the West. At the research level, even though some courses mention Buddhist thought, academic discussions on animal ethics are not as enthusiastic as in the West. At the public level, China's current focus on animals is mainly on cats and dogs. However, compared to the animals that serve as human food, the number of these pets appears insignificant. We look forward to strengthening the interaction and communication between scholars, teachers, and students from both the East and the West in the future, so that they can better learn from each other's excellent ideas and jointly promote the popularization and development of animal ethics. On September 27, 2023, at Kunming Wildlife Park in Yunnan Province, the ring tailed lemur enjoyed a special mooncake feast. Reporter Li Jiaxian from China News Service: "Animal Liberation" is considered the beginning of the animal liberation movement. What new thoughts have you had on animal protection since the publication of Animal Liberation in 1975? Peter Singer: The publication of 'Animal Liberation' has sparked widespread discussion, but inevitably some opposition voices. However, these opposing opinions are not enough to shake the fundamental ethical viewpoint I proposed in 1975. I am pleased to see that many philosophers from other ethical schools now agree with my viewpoint that the way humans treat animals is devoid of morality. Christine Korsgaard, a philosophy professor at Harvard University and an authoritative scholar of contemporary Kantian ethics, is one of them, in addition to Martha Nussbaum, an American philosopher influenced by Aristotle's theory. Of course, there are also some Buddhist thinkers, such as Master Shi Zhaohui, who strongly oppose the practice of raising and slaughtering animals. However, in the past 50 years, the way humans treat animals has not improved significantly, which made me realize that I should be more pragmatic. Since ethical arguments cannot encourage most people to choose a vegan lifestyle, perhaps a more practical approach is to call on everyone to minimize the consumption of animal products, especially those produced by industrial farming and factory animal husbandry. This intensive farming method is the most serious moral disaster, extremely exploiting the rights of a huge number of animals. Last year, I discussed these issues in detail in the newly revised book 'Animal Liberation: Now'. This book will be released in Chinese translation in the coming months, hoping to further promote public attention to these issues. On September 25, 2024 local time, Longhua Ancient Temple in Shanghai and the American Chinese Museum in Washington jointly held the "Zen Heart and Fragrance of America" Chinese vegetarian food tasting event. Reporter Chen Meng from China News Service: How do you view the impact of artificial intelligence on the world? Can AI ethics cross species boundaries? Peter Singer: The inadequacy of current ethical discussions on artificial intelligence lies in the failure to cross species boundaries. Artificial intelligence has had a profound impact on animals. An obvious example is the autonomous vehicle. The design of these vehicles will prevent collisions with pedestrians and large animals such as deer, avoiding vehicle damage, while also trying to avoid cats and dogs as much as possible, as crushing these beloved animals may trigger public opinion. However, will autonomous vehicle also actively give way to smaller animals such as squirrels or birds? At present, there is no evidence to suggest that they will do so. Nowadays, artificial intelligence has begun to be applied in the field of industrial animal husbandry. If popularized, it may affect the survival of billions of vertebrates. However, if the developers of artificial intelligence cannot uphold the ethical concept of caring for all sentient beings, artificial intelligence is likely to only maximize corporate interests and completely ignore the living conditions of animals. For example, some companies may use artificial intelligence to increase breeding density. I believe that the ethics of artificial intelligence should break through species boundaries and equally focus on the interests of all sentient beings. However, the achievement of this goal depends on multiple factors, including the ethical beliefs of developers, the attitude of government regulatory agencies, and whether consumers are willing to take action to resist products that harm the interests of non-human animals. On July 11, 2024, in the Innovation and Operation Center of Beijing High level Autonomous Driving Demonstration Zone, staff introduced the principle and application status of "vehicle road cloud integration" to visitors through a sand table. Reporter Jia Tianyong from China News Service: In the face of the rapid development of artificial intelligence, what vigilance do humans need to maintain? Peter Singer: We need to establish clear and strict ethical standards for artificial intelligence. As I mentioned earlier, these norms must cover all sentient beings, even including the interests of artificial intelligence itself - if in the future artificial intelligence really generates autonomous consciousness as some speculate. The ethical standards of artificial intelligence must comprehensively cover multiple ethical issues. Currently, there is widespread concern that artificial intelligence may lead to mass unemployment and may carry biases against women and vulnerable groups. If super artificial intelligence that is smarter than humans is truly developed in the future, it is necessary to ensure that it not only protects human interests but also takes into account the well-being of all living beings. Otherwise, super artificial intelligence may pose a dominant threat to humanity and even lead to the extinction of all life on Earth. In view of this, people engaged in the development and operation of artificial intelligence worldwide should strengthen dialogue and cooperation, and work together to explore cooperation paths. To avoid vicious competition between enterprises or countries in the field of artificial intelligence, which puts humanity in an extremely dangerous situation. Interviewee profile: Peter Singer. Interviewee provides pictures of Peter? Peter Singer, born in Melbourne, Australia in 1946, is a renowned contemporary philosopher and one of the founders of practical ethics. He has served as the President of the International Ethics Society and is an advocate for the global animal protection movement. He is also one of the renowned scholars who focus on and address global poverty. Representative works include "Animal Liberation," "Practical Ethics," "Rethinking Life and Death: The Collapse of Traditional Ethics," and "One World: Global Ethics.