Enjoyed @kevinroose.com and @caseynewton.bsky.social 's conversation with @jeffsebo.bsky.social on LLM consciousness. Even though I still believe LLM consciousness is merely "a smile on a dog" I was convinced we need to keep researching ways of deciding whether LLMs are conscious or not.

Do Social Media Bans Work? + A Conversation About A.I. Consciousness + Tool Time

Podcast Episode · Hard Fork · July 10 · 1h 19m

podcasts.apple.com

Vuelvo a escribir en @elpais.com para hablar de uno de los temas que más me interesa en los últimos años: lingüística animal y cómo comunican las otras especies. Ahora, la IA acelera este campo. Entrevisto a @earthspecies.bsky.social y a @jeffsebo.bsky.social de la NYU. elpais.com/tecnologia/2...

The NYU Wild Animal Welfare Program is thrilled to be hosting our annual Wild Animal Welfare Summit! Two and a half days of talks, discussions, and networking among researchers, advocates, and policymakers about how to improve wild animal welfare at scale :)

1/ If you live in NY-12, please consider voting for @alexbores.nyc today.

Day 2 and last of the Helsinki Animal Law Conference 2026: "Reimagining Interspecies Justice" with talks by @jeffsebo.bsky.social, Molly Neeson & Angela Fernandez. I was able to present my work on epistemic agency in animals on one of the panels, and I am so happy for the experience and feedback! ✨

I and @jeffsebo.bsky.social described how they're trying to bury the law in the Farm Bill. This would undermine not only animal welfare, but human & environmental health. Interstate sale restrictions & quarantines are powerful tools to slow livestock diseases. 3/ www.agri-pulse.com/articles/247...

Opinion: This hidden provision in the farm bill could wipe out hundreds of state laws

Matthew Hayek and Jeff Sebo, associate professors at New York University, argue that a House farm bill provision limiting state authority over agricultural products could invalidate more than 600 exis...

agri-pulse.com

"Who Belongs in the Moral Circle?" A relational response to @jeffsebo.bsky.social's book "The Moral Circle" written in collaboration with Hayate Shimizu, @annapuzio.bsky.social and @kamilmamak.bsky.social and published in the "Asian Journal of Philosophy" @springernature.com rdcu.be/fppRj

If insects are sentient and sentience implies rights, what follows for food security and public health? I call this the "insect challenge" for animal ethics. The Journal of Practical Ethics has a new symposium on it, with an article by me and 3 replies: journals.publishing.umich.edu/jpe/news/ 1/5

Are you a researcher or industry expert with a deep interest in shrimp aquaculture? The Arthropoda Foundation is hiring a Program Officer to scope and commission research that improves conditions for farmed shrimps! Remote, $75,000/year. Learn more and apply: www.arthropoda.org/work-with-us

Arthropoda Foundation - Work with Us

The Arthropoda Foundation is currently hiring a Program Officer. Learn more below.

arthropoda.org

This agricultural protectionist bill is so unpopular that Democrats & Republicans sank it multiple times. Now, its few supports want to sneak it into the Farm Bill. @jeffsebo.bsky.social & I share why it's a threat to animals, environment, workers & states' rights. www.agri-pulse.com/articles/247...

Opinion: This hidden provision in the farm bill could wipe out hundreds of state laws

Matthew Hayek and Jeff Sebo, associate professors at New York University, argue that a House farm bill provision limiting state authority over agricultural products could invalidate more than 600 exis...

agri-pulse.com

Next Steps for AI Welfare Research by @jeffsebo.bsky.social, Director of the Center for Mind, Ethics, and Policy, New York University Our 1st edition of the AI Welfare Seminars: presentations on AI welfare, consciousness and moral status. Tuesday, May 19, 1PM EDT, on Zoom RSVP luma.com/sc15vlr8

Next Steps for AI Welfare Research – Jeff Sebo · Zoom · Luma

Next Steps for AI Welfare Research By Jeff Sebo, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies, Director of the Center for Environmental and Animal Protection,…

luma.com

"Animal rights are built on the idea that certain types of harmful activities are unacceptable, no matter how much good they might do for humans. We should not use animals for food, or research in invasive or lethal ways, even if we benefit from it." @jeffsebo.bsky.social @lseeuroppblog.bsky.social

Interview with Jeff Sebo: “Human exceptionalism ought to be challenged”

Should animals have rights or just protections? Jeff Sebo discusses the difference between rights and welfare, and the problems with human exceptionalism.

blogs.lse.ac.uk

"Our Planet, Our Health" explores questions of global health justice through conversations with international experts. In the first episode, host @rominarekers.bsky.social speaks with @jeffsebo.bsky.social about why animal welfare is central to planetary health. www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6rl...

Why Animal Welfare Belongs at the Heart of Public Health?

YouTube video by Normative Orders

youtube.com

💡 @jeffsebo.bsky.social examines one of the most consequential assumptions underlying animal experimentation & animal use more broadly: The harmful assumption that consciousness should not be attributed unless conclusively proven #philosophy #ethics #consci #PhilMind #animalrights

Thrilled to share a policy report that I co-authored about how city governments can incorporate wild animal welfare into their approaches to human-wildlife conflict! 🏙️🕊️ Led by Adalene Minelli, @jeffsebo.bsky.social, and NYU’s Wild Animal Welfare Program enviroanimal.org/human-wildli...

Wild Animal Welfare in Local Policies on Human-Wildlife Conflict - Center for Environmental and Animal Protection

enviroanimal.org

Photo of the participants for the panel discussion that followed the NYC premiere of the documentary AM I? @jeffsebo.bsky.social, Milo Reed (filmmaker), me, and Cameron Berg (the star of the film). The doc is now available on YouTube. www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbTv...

The NYU Center for Mind, Ethics, and Policy is thrilled to be hosting Ned Block for a talk on AI consciousness! This talk will be held during our Mind, Ethics, and Policy Summit on April 10. Summit guests will attend in person, others can attend online. RSVP 👇 Please join us!

If Consciousness is Biological, Can AI Be Conscious? - Center for Mind Ethics, and Policy

nonhumanminds.org

Coming in 2027. My most personal book, and risky, I know. #AnimalsMatter @jeffsebo.bsky.social @raffaelfasel.bsky.social press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...

The book features contributions by Patricia Wiater (@fau.de), @visakurki.bsky.social (@helsinki.fi), Macarena Montes Franceschini (@harvard.edu), @jeffsebo.bsky.social (NYU), Malgosia Fitzmaurice (QMUL), Elien Verniers (Ghent), @evabernetkempers.bsky.social (@uantwerpen.be), ...

The NYU Center for Mind, Ethics, and Policy and the NYU Center for Environmental and Animal Protection are both hiring full-time researchers! If you have strong research skills and an interest in animal and AI welfare (for CMEP) or food and wildlife science and policy (for CEAP), please apply!

Today! nonhumanminds.org/event/animal...

Animals in Cost-Benefit Analysis - Center for Mind Ethics, and Policy

nonhumanminds.org

Are you an ops expert interested in farmed animal welfare, wild animal welfare, invertebrate welfare, and AI welfare? The NYU Center for Mind, Ethics, and Policy and NYU Center for Environmental and Animal Protection are hiring an administrator. Please apply, and please share!

The NYU Wild Animal Welfare Program is thrilled to be hosting an event on how cities can manage human-wildlife conflict! Join us for a preview of our upcoming report and discussion with Colin Jerolmack and Adalene Minelli. Feb 23, 4pm ET, followed by a reception. sites.google.com/nyu.edu/wild...

Events

SPRING 2026

sites.google.com

Nice coverage of the NYU Food Impact Program launch event from Washington Square News! nyunews.com/2026/02/09/n...

Faculty discuss the future of food issues - Washington Square News

Around 150 NYU community members gathered Friday afternoon to learn about interdisciplinary global food issues at the Food Impact Program’s first event since its creation last month. The panel discuss...

nyunews.com

My paper with @jeffsebo.bsky.social , "The Emotional Alignment Design Policy", now live at Topoi [link in comments]. Artificial entities should be designed to elicit emotional reactions from ordinary users that appropriately reflect the entities’ capacities and moral status, or lack thereof.

1/ The NYU Wild Animal Welfare Program is hiring a Postdoctoral Associate! The NYU Wild Animal Welfare Program is currently seeking a postdoctoral associate to join an interdisciplinary research project focused on wild animals in urban environments.

The IWRS is hiring! Help us build the infrastructure for invertebrate welfare research—from husbandry databases to educational resources. 🐛📖 Remote Research Scientist position, $55-60K. We will begin reviewing applications on March 15. Learn more and apply here:

Staff Entomologist — Insect Welfare Research Society

Work with Us

insectwelfare.com

The NYU Center for Mind, Ethics, and Policy is thrilled to be hosting an online talk with legal scholar Andy Stawasz about why and how to include animal welfare in cost-benefit analyses. February 11, noon ET. Join us! nyu.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Animals in Cost-Benefit Analysis. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.

Federal agencies’ cost-benefit analyses do not capture animals’ interests. This omission matters. Cost-benefit analysis drives many regulatory decisions that substantially affect many billions of anim...

nyu.zoom.us

On the Clearer Thinking Podcast, Spencer Greenberg and I discuss farmed animal welfare, wild animal welfare, AI welfare, and a variety of related issues. Please give it a listen if you have interest, and please share with others who might! podcast.clearerthinking.org/episode/?ep=...

What is consciousness & who has it? Complex & evolving field…The author suggests “we should adopt different assumptions about the distribution of consciousness for different purposes in science.” Also In ethics. But “a default assumption of consciousness may often be best for both science & ethics.”

Jeff Sebo@jeffsebo.bsky.social · 7mo ago

New article! Should we assume entities have or lack consciousness until evidence establishes otherwise? I argue for accepting different assumptions for different purposes, including (1) scientific theory, (2) scientific practice, (3) ethical theory, and (4) ethical practice.