This is a real thing Peter Thiel told a group of tech professionals recently.
In a four-part series of religious lectures in San Francisco, Peter Thiel — yes, that Peter Thiel — has argued that the End Times are nigh and that a biblical Antichrist — yes, that Antichrist — will come to Earth in the form of onerous government regulations placed on science, technology, and AI.
These are, incidentally, areas where the tech billionaire, venture capitalist, and cofounder of Palantir has a vested financial interest. […]
Note: source uses a two-headline system; the submission uses the shorter of the two
strict AI regulation will summon the Antichrist
That is a chance I am willing to take.
Let’s goooooo
I mean isn’t he exactly wrong? Unrestrained AI development is what could lead to the creation of a malevolent daemon with the potential to destroy mankind.
Peter Thiel: “Do not defy the emerging machine intelligences or they will punish humanity by summoning another Greta Thunberg. Meritocracy demands that the computers be our masters, just as I am yours.”
The ruling class talking like this does make the apocalypse look like a reasonable alternative.
Do not defy the emerging machine intelligences or they will punish humanity by summoning another Greta Thunberg.
So… is there an upper limit to this? Or if we keep defying will we keep getting more Gretas? Because I don’t see a downside. At all.
We need to get a high level voodoo priest to summon mega, ultra-greta.
Greta THORberg
Like greta as thor in kung fury?
As long as the apocalpti are agnostic to wealth, I’m all for it…although I would prefer for it to target only humans. All the other flora and fauna should get a free pass.
“Meritocracy demands that the computers be our masters”
Fuck you Peter. I will be the master of my machines - they are not my gods.
Mediocrity also demands that aliens must exist. So why don’t we spend time trying to consult them?
It’s a stupid logical fallacy that just because something seems inevitable it must therefore actually be inevitable.
It’s like when my dog demands that I make it stop raining, I’m sure he thinks I’m all powerful but I can’t do that.
He is f’ing crazy and has the ear of the highest levels of government
One of the richest people in the world is nuttier than squirrel shit. What could go wrong?
So I’m like 45 hours into the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich audiobook and it’s really amazing to see how much an obviously crazy person can get away with, even when everyone around him is like, yeah, that dude is totally batshit and probably going to get us all killed, but idk, I guess we should still do what he says?
You enjoying it? I’m on the lookout for some more historical goodness. My current podcast (Revolutions, which is whopper) is nearing it’s end.
I am enjoying it. It’s fascinating. Fascistnating…
I wish I were reading it because it’s so detail-rich and I really need to take my time in some spots. Were I studying it for school, I’d certainly be intending to pore through its pages while referencing maps and portraits of its main characters. As it is, it’s fairly decent for low-stress driving.
This guy’s YT review provides a pretty summary of why it’s a worthy read (or listen). But it is 57 hours long, so quite a heavy time commitment. But definitely a book that should be mandatory for everyone on earth to read at some point.
I also highly recommend watching HBO’s Conspiracy with Kenneth Branagh, Stanely Tucci, and Colin Firth. It complements the story in Schindler’s List incredibly well.
That is a great review. Thank you. Just got it with a spare credit I had and it’ll be next up after I finish Revolutions.
I really don’t mind the time commitment. If anything I prefer longer form, more in depth stuff. Both Revolutions and The History of Rome (same podcaster, Mike Duncan) were very long and I thoroughly enjoyed both.
I highly recommend them both if you’re looking for something in the future. The History of Rome is really excellent though he takes a few episodes to hit his stride as it was his first podcast. It’s 179 episodes long and I was bummed when it was over and have listened to it twice so far.
Edit: If you haven’t seen it, The World at War is absolutely incredible. It was made in the 70s so they got interviews with some of the surviving senior Nazis which is fascinating.
I couldn’t bring myself to watch the horrors of the holocaust episode though. Just couldn’t.
Thanks for the recommendations! Putting them on my list.
I just encountered another review of Rise and Fall that’s probably worth considering. While I think it’s probably still a good idea to read/listen to Shirer’s book for cultural literacy purposes, it apparently is severely dated in its retelling of events in Germany. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/7kld0l/comment/drfa12x/
Thanks for the heads up. That’s disappointing. I was excited to start it but I’m still finishing up Revolutions.
I’ll have a read of the Reddit thread in advance though.
New comment in case you’ve seen the previous one… Has reading that thread changed your enjoyment of the book?
I haven’t read the thread yet.
Imagine not only believing in the anti-christ, but then also believing that LLMs are some accurate tool.
In truth all that Thiel is saying is that he’s a type of brain rotted Zizian cultist.
Delusional Rationalists are mentally ill, and for some reason when given LLMs they become worse. Thiel and others believe LLMs are time travelling gods.
It wouldn’t surprise me if he and Elon were in relationships with ChatGPT (or think they are). The Rationalist groups actually believe in thought-experiments like Rokos Basilisk (Roko was just a user on a Rationalist forum by the way)… So I think these old tech billionaires are just lost, broken, and evil. They’re pathetic, and should have their estates put into insolvency if they’re going to say mentally ill shit.
Ziz LaSota is the most Starwars sounding name I’ve seen this year.
But… Peter, you’re already here, we can’t summon you while you’re here
Ooooh… OK.
I was aware of the “what” of the lectures, but was holding out for “why”.
“Don’t regulate me”
Got it.
I wonder how this plays with the people who are trying to start the end times?
These people are genuinely, certifiably insane, and they’re in charge.
People who believe in fairy tales, demons, and other childish nonsense as adults should be referred to mental health services, not be given the keys to the economy and governance.
How can so many grown adults think this is okay? It’s complete madness. They’re dooming us with their psychopathy and people are nodding along like this is normal. Fucking hell.
Alright smartypants, what WILL summon the Antichrist, then?
Unrestricted capitalism.
Which antichrist?
I think manipulating an emperor into adopting your kid as an heir worked once. Another time, tricking people into thinking you’re socialist then backstabbing them worked. Or perhaps whitewashing your record of abject failure by becoming a reality television star.
When my BBW folder hits 12 TB.
Nah all myths are abstract descriptions of systems and processes. They were never meant to be detailed.
The real madness is not updating these myths to today’s standards and taking everything that was written literally thousands of years ago as inarguably correct.
The Christofascist, but Zionazi first, Ted Cruz appeal to both this legislation and Israel supremacy for all actions is a ploy that has been working.
Just because it sounds non-sensical to you, the pastors on the payroll, will get MAGA to lobby congress to prevent summoning the anti-christ, and then, is successful corruption of America insane? Or is it Trump circling finger around forehead smart?
I don’t disagree that it works. That’s what I mean – a disturbing number of people buy this obvious bullshit, mostly because they were indoctrinated into it, so their critical thinking was compromised before they had the chance to discern fiction from reality.
It’s sad, and tantamount to child abuse, and now we all have to deal with the shitshow caused by people who believe in fairy tales and will make us all pay for it.
Very few human brains see a moral line between pride and supremacism. Religious adherence is a proud act. The appeal of christofacism means it is easy to deliver souls thinking they are given to god, to any and all demonic gaslighting that pays the religious order/pastor to gaslight their flock. The business of religion is to gaslight people into giving you their souls for your power and profit.
Okay, but no gods exist, so all belief, no matter how seemingly benign, is delusional and harmful.
It’s only a small step from seemingly benign belief to this dangerous delusion, and it only takes a charismatic leader saying the right words to turn that belief into violent fanaticism. Otherwise good people will commit or support atrocities based on these delusions.
People don’t support horrific things because they’re moustache-twirling villains – they think they’re good people supporting good things, and these beliefs convince people to do horrific things by twisting their minds.
That’s been the case for thousands of years.
no gods exist, so all belief, no matter how seemingly benign, is delusional and harmful.
I can’t prove god, but am sure that if there is one, it is humanist and idealist. It’s possible to see Jesus as trying to empahsize this, unlike Hasbara Moses declaring there is no god above insignificant minor Canaanite god, and commanding his followers to go kill everyone else and destroy their idols.
The point is not that humanism and idealism is delusional and harmful, whether or not it comes from God. It is that “idealism as a sales pitch” to steal your soul for megalomania profits is too easy. It’s not Jesus’s fault that fanaticism makes us want to go kill everyone who “doesn’t believe in thou shalt not murder” as much as our powerful in-group.
I strongly disagree. All incarnations of Abrahamic gods have been vengeful and cruel, including Jesus.
Believe it if you like, but a loving god is a retcon, and your own texts prove that.
Humanism is the absence of an authoritarian deity. The reason humanism exists is because we are a cooperative species that’s helped and fostered each other for millions of years. We have archaeological evidence of this that far predates any notion of modern gods.
Modern humans haven’t been around for millions of years, you seem to have replaced one faith with another.
We elected someone for president who literally embodies ALL of the Seven Deadly Sins. I’d say the AntiChrist is already here.
Sounds just like something the Antichrist would say.
The man is scared of Roko’s Basilisk and actually thinks that putting all of his money into predictive text and racial profiling algorithms will lead to AGI.
Does anyone need more evidence that religion is a mental illness?
Yes. Not us, but yes.
Not the most tractable tho
Peter Thiel who hung out with notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and convicted child sex twice Ghislaine Maxwell? That Peter Thiel?
Here’s the thing. In any sane political system amateurishly attempting to invoke the antichrist just because you don’t like something would result in you getting completely ignored by everyone else. Only this is the US, so for some reason he gets platformed.
The only difference between thiel and a homeless man living in a cardboard box is 26.1 billion dollars.
The homeless man is probably more sane
But would there also be any negative effects?
