But assuming that LW's eyeballs should be monetized because you can construct a story in which a few dollars makes the difference between the SIAI succeeding and failing is not rational discourse.

I'd have thought that the story being as far-fetched and ludicrous as it is would've made it obvious that I was just fooling around, not making an argument. Apparently that's not actually the case.

My apologies if I accidentally managed to convince someone of the necessity of monetizing LW's eyeballs.