Astronomical waste

Abstract

The article provides an upper theoretical bound on the rate of decrease of accessible value in the universe, with the intent of determining whether this rate of decrease justifies adjusting our current views on ethics and resource use. The argument that provides this upper bound states that, if the universe is at least 10 billion years old, then the decrease in value of the universe cannot be more than 0.0000001 (1/10 billion) fraction per year. The probability of a scenario where this rate of decrease is actually greater than this number is considered to be astronomically small. – AI-generated abstract.