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Comment by platinumrad

10 hours ago

Anthropic is a company full of basilisk believers.

Yes, but the really weird thing is that they seem to:

a) believe that what they're creating is a basilisk, and b) keep trying harder to do this while staring right at it

I think they're very deluded about (a) -- but if they do actually believe this (and it really seems like a decent proportion of Anthropic truly does), then why keep doing (b)?

That seems to be why this individual resigned, but I'm surprised it's not all of them. The cakeism is strong in that company.

  • He was referring to this basilisk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roko%27s_basilisk

    In short, this is the believe that a god-like AI could punish them retroactively, for not having done all that was in their power to create this AI.

    (A bit similar to some religious believe that a god could punish you after your death if you did not spend your live "pleasing" said god during your life)

  • A lot of people in tech tend to be weak, introverted, spineless… people.

    No surprise really.

  • With Roko's Basilisk, if you believe in it, the most rational thing to do is to put forth every effort to bring it into being. Because if you don't, then you will be one of its targets when it does, inevitably, come into being.

    (I am not a basilisk believer. I think this is all absolute horseshit. But to understand someone's motivations, one must think like them.)

    • Imagine being that delusional.

      Lmao.

      (Not you btw).

      I’m convinced this scaremongering is from weak people who need it to be true. Because they have nothing else in life. This work is them.

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You mean a effing cult like heavens gate.. call all this rationalist crap for what it is - a religous movement with leaders and prophets and even a demiurge like God