Scott Alexander explains discrepancies in animal moral value surveys, highlighting how methodology affects results, and emphasizes the importance of clear research procedures. Longer summary

Scott Alexander updates his previous post about a survey on animal moral value and cortical neuron count. He explains that discrepancies between his results and a replication attempt by Tibbar were due to differences in survey methodology. David Moss from Rethink Priorities conducted a larger survey, revealing that the way participants are allowed to express 'infinite' value for animals significantly affects the results. Scott acknowledges the fragility of these results, as they balance between people valuing all animal lives equally and those giving extremely high values to certain animals. He concludes by emphasizing the importance of clearly explaining research procedures and ensuring links to procedures are correct. Shorter summary