Opinion: Estimating invertebrate sentience

Abstract

This opinion piece presents four different perspectives on estimating the sentience of invertebrates. The authors argue that, while it would be useful to know the probabilities of different invertebrate taxa being sentient, assigning numerical estimates is premature. The authors give various reasons for this position. One concern is that, given the current state of scientific understanding, it would be very difficult to assign objectively good sentience scores to various groups of animals. Another concern is that these scores would likely be over-emphasized and misinterpreted. Finally, the authors argue that publishing these estimates prematurely could negatively affect their ability to collaborate with scientists and potentially damage their credibility as a research organization. – AI-generated abstract