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RE: Remembering Ham - the first space pilot
Yes, in hindsight, it would seem obvious Ham was a test subject. 2/3rds of the primates that went before him never survived. Ham's probability of survival was only 30%, which is why they didn't name him till he was back safe and sound.
Yeah it's pretty terrible how we've used our closest living relatives as crash-test dummies in both space and medicine. They've contributed to breakthroughs in both... but I think we'll be looking back at all this in 50 years with a cringing feeling.
I give it 5-10 years tops before every major country grants personhood to the great apes. We'll see when other species follow. And what about AI (AGI)? That'll be an enormous can of worms :)
That will be the ultimate can of all worm cans! Hopefully we get to experience that level of moral decision making in our lifetime.