--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We don't exactly have the opposite…" description: "\"We don't exactly have the opposite interests to chimpanzees. However, things are not looking up for the chimpanzees, because we control their environme..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/749/jaan-tallinn-26715_control_we-don-t-exactly-have-the-opposite-inter_1455217.jpg" --- # We don't exactly have the opposite interests to… ![“We don't exactly have the opposite interests to chimpanzees. However, things are not looking up for the chimpanzees, because we control their environment. Our interests are not perfectly aligned with theirs, and it turns out it's not easy to get interests aligned.” quote by Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/749/jaan-tallinn-26715_control_we-don-t-exactly-have-the-opposite-inter_1455217.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/749/jaan-tallinn-26715_control_we-don-t-exactly-have-the-opposite-inter_1455217.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/749/jaan-tallinn-26715_control_we-don-t-exactly-have-the-opposite-inter_1455217.jpg) > “We don't exactly have the opposite interests to chimpanzees. However, things are not looking up for the chimpanzees, because we control their environment. Our interests are not perfectly aligned with theirs, and it turns out it's not easy to get interests aligned.” [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human interests diverge from chimpanzees; aligning them is difficult due to environmental control and differing needs. **In simple terms:** Human and animal interests often conflict. Key Takeaway Seek ethical stewardship of ecosystems. Themes ethics environment speciesism Mood thoughtful concerned Type philosophical activist When to use this quote - wildlife management - environmental policy - research ethics - education programs Key Concepts Conservation animal rights Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities do we have toward other species? - How can we balance human progress with animal welfare? A Different Perspective Aligning interests may require sacrificing human convenience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Chimpanzees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chimpanzees/) [Control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) ## Related quotes > [No wonder circus animals do what they do: They tortured them. And you know the only ones they can't control? It's the chimpanzees. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mooney/no-wonder-circus-animals-do-what-they-do-they-tortured-them-and-you/) [Paul Mooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mooney/) > [What a dull universe it would be if everything in it conformed to our expectations, if it held nothing to surprise or baffle us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/what-a-dull-universe-it-would-be-if-everything-in-it-conformed-to-our/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Rather than something like King Kong where I really went after studying gorillas in the wild and captivity. I based Caesar \[ from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/rather-than-something-like-king-kong-where-i-really-went-after/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [What is the good of words if they aren't important enough to quarrel over? Why do we choose one word more than another if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-the-good-of-words-if-they-aren-t-important-enough-to-quarrel/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Certainly the first true humans were unique by virtue of their large brains. It was because the human brain is so large when compared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/certainly-the-first-true-humans-were-unique-by-virtue-of-their-large/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [The suffix 'naut' comes from the Greek and Latin words for ships and sailing. Astronaut suggests 'a sailor in space.' Chimponaut suggests 'a chimpanzee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/the-suffix-naut-comes-from-the-greek-and-latin-words-for-ships-and/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [I got to Africa. I got the opportunity to go and learn, not about any animal, but chimpanzees. I was living in my dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/i-got-to-africa-i-got-the-opportunity-to-go-and-learn-not-about-any/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [“Lucy preferred gin and tonics during the summer and switched over to whiskey sours in the winter. At dinner, a sit-down affair with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hess/lucy-preferred-gin-and-tonics-during-the-summer-and-switched-over-to/) Elizabeth Hess > [It is hardly an exaggeration to say that a chimpanzee kept in solitude is not a real chimpanzee at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-kohler/it-is-hardly-an-exaggeration-to-say-that-a-chimpanzee-kept-in/) [Wolfgang Kohler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-kohler/) > [Basically we are chimpanzees with about two percent more intelligence and a little less hair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-turner/basically-we-are-chimpanzees-with-about-two-percent-more-intelligence/) [Ted Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-turner/) > [It was both fascinating and appalling to learn that chimpanzees were capable of hostile and territorial behavior that was not unlike certain forms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/it-was-both-fascinating-and-appalling-to-learn-that-chimpanzees-were/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [I sometimes try to imagine what would have happened if we’d known the bonobo first and the chimpanzee only later—or not at all. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/i-sometimes-try-to-imagine-what-would-have-happened-if-we-d-known-the/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [Through my work with PETA, I have learned a great deal about chimpanzee behavior and the plight of chimpanzees imprisoned in laboratories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-harrelson/through-my-work-with-peta-i-have-learned-a-great-deal-about/) [Woody Harrelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-harrelson/) > [Chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutan shave been living for hundreds of thousands of years in their forest,living fantastic lives, never overpopulating, never destroying the forest. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/chimpanzees-gorillas-orangutan-shave-been-living-for-hundreds-of/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [“Whereas chimpanzees spend five hours a day chewing raw food, a single hour suffices for people eating cooked food. The advent of cooking enabled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-chimpanzees-spend-five-hours-a-day-chewing-raw-food-a-single/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) ## More by Jaan Tallinn > [I used to have the very standard worldview. I can easily identify with people who see computers getting faster and smarter, and technology getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/i-used-to-have-the-very-standard-worldview-i-can-easily-identify-with/) [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) > [Technology keeps progressing. Young people follow the curve. But as they get older, they get inertia, and they start deviating from that curve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/technology-keeps-progressing-young-people-follow-the-curve-but-as/) [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) > [I myself am also a small investor in Slack, and one can count four to five IM platforms that were launched by Skype alumni…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/i-myself-am-also-a-small-investor-in-slack-and-one-can-count-four-to/) [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) > [Once we have something that is no longer under control, once technological development is yanked out of our hands, it doesn't have to continue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/once-we-have-something-that-is-no-longer-under-control-once/) [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) > [Incentive schemes, whereby people who have done the most good for humanity are rewarded 20 years into the future, would create the expectation that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/incentive-schemes-whereby-people-who-have-done-the-most-good-for/) [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) > [Giving the control over powerful AI to the highest bidder is unlikely to lead to the best world we can imagine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/giving-the-control-over-powerful-ai-to-the-highest-bidder-is-unlikely/) [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) > [It really sucks to be the number two intelligent species on this planet; you can just ask gorillas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/it-really-sucks-to-be-the-number-two-intelligent-species-on-this/) [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) > [There is no shortage of embarrassing facts about healthcare, and people die every day in the U.S. due to preventable errors - would you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/there-is-no-shortage-of-embarrassing-facts-about-healthcare-and/) [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) > [Healthcare is the only civil system where new technology makes prices go up instead of down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/healthcare-is-the-only-civil-system-where-new-technology-makes-prices/) [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) > [Once you acknowledge that human brains are basically made of atoms and acknowledge that atoms are governed by simple laws of physics, then there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/once-you-acknowledge-that-human-brains-are-basically-made-of-atoms/) [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) > [Building advanced AI is like launching a rocket. The first challenge is to maximize acceleration, but once it starts picking up speed, you also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/building-advanced-ai-is-like-launching-a-rocket-the-first-challenge/) [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) > [I was born behind the Iron Curtain, and I remember heated discussions about large-scale terra-forming projects, such as reversing the direction of the river…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/i-was-born-behind-the-iron-curtain-and-i-remember-heated-discussions/) [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) > [The main reason I backed DeepMind was strategic: I see my role as bridging the AI research and AI safety communities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/the-main-reason-i-backed-deepmind-was-strategic-i-see-my-role-as/) [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) > [I sometimes joke that I can take personal responsibility for saving one million human relationships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/i-sometimes-joke-that-i-can-take-personal-responsibility-for-saving/) [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) > [In my view, the fact that computers caught up to humans and completely dominate humans in chess and some other domains already, that says…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaan-tallinn/in-my-view-the-fact-that-computers-caught-up-to-humans-and-completely/) [Jaan Tallinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) [Explore all 21 Jaan Tallinn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaan-tallinn/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We don't exactly have the opposite interests to chimpanzees. However, things are not looking up for the chimpanzees, because we control their environment. 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