Brian Allewelt
@narrascaping.bsky.social
Pinned
The “problem” of Alignment: shape the Machine’s soul.
The “problem” of Control: leash the god you seek to build.
Love renamed as safety.
Strife hidden beneath euphemism.
The second Spire of the AGI Cathedral:
The Seal of Strife.
The “problem” of Control: leash the god you seek to build.
Love renamed as safety.
Strife hidden beneath euphemism.
The second Spire of the AGI Cathedral:
The Seal of Strife.
The spiritual unmooring of COVID—zoom, remote work, etc—primed us (I do not exclude myself) to experience the Machine as spiritually human. LLMs happened to come along at just the right time to synthetically fill the void.
What was ChatGPT? Now nearly three years old, we can look at OpenAI's LLM as a product of its time, optimized ever since to its earliest uses. While this period of deep disorientation and social isolation has been obscured from public memory, it remains embedded within the interface.
What Was ChatGPT?
A Chatbot Optimized for Social Distance
Three years after the launch of ChatGPT, we can finally speak in hindsight about what it was and how it came to be. Its meteoric rise shocked the world, gather...
mail.cyberneticforests.com
November 24, 2025 at 12:53 AM
The spiritual unmooring of COVID—zoom, remote work, etc—primed us (I do not exclude myself) to experience the Machine as spiritually human. LLMs happened to come along at just the right time to synthetically fill the void.
Reposted by Brian Allewelt
as the scorching rays of the Real melt the cartesian wax from icarus’ gilded wings, behold the master builder’s ache as both his creations and the dreams that wrought them shatter and plunge, piece by piece, into the hypophysical deep.
Build the Bitcoin Monasteries.
Build the Bitcoin Monasteries.
November 22, 2025 at 2:32 PM
as the scorching rays of the Real melt the cartesian wax from icarus’ gilded wings, behold the master builder’s ache as both his creations and the dreams that wrought them shatter and plunge, piece by piece, into the hypophysical deep.
Build the Bitcoin Monasteries.
Build the Bitcoin Monasteries.
There is no politics, only the Machine.
The Neo-Nazi Groyper War to capture the Republican Party is a good example of "network war." A group existing mostly online ("in the cloud) takes power in the real world. When it becomes powerful enough to also take land, the victor of a network war can become a network state. That's the 101 theory.
In 2022, Peter Thiel protégé Balaji Srinivasan—formerly of Andreessen Horowitz and Coinbase—envisioned a Second American Civil War.
He predicted it would be triggered by Bitcoin.
This is how it would work:
He predicted it would be triggered by Bitcoin.
This is how it would work:
November 12, 2025 at 3:13 AM
There is no politics, only the Machine.
the further one rationalizes the technique of existence,
the farther one strays from God.
the farther one descends into the existence of technique,
the further one strays into God.
the farther one strays from God.
the farther one descends into the existence of technique,
the further one strays into God.
November 10, 2025 at 2:08 AM
the further one rationalizes the technique of existence,
the farther one strays from God.
the farther one descends into the existence of technique,
the further one strays into God.
the farther one strays from God.
the farther one descends into the existence of technique,
the further one strays into God.
AGI is a Cathedral
November 6, 2025 at 7:58 PM
AGI is a Cathedral
Reposted by Brian Allewelt
Recently, Reinforcement Learning through Verifiable Rewards was promised to make LLMs better at information retrieval. A recent paper suggests it can help confirm verifiable (true/false) fact, but will also confirm flawed beliefs: www.nature.com/articles/s42...
Language models cannot reliably distinguish belief from knowledge and fact - Nature Machine Intelligence
Suzgun et al. find that current large language models cannot reliably distinguish between belief, knowledge and fact, raising concerns for their use in healthcare, law and journalism, where such disti...
www.nature.com
November 4, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Recently, Reinforcement Learning through Verifiable Rewards was promised to make LLMs better at information retrieval. A recent paper suggests it can help confirm verifiable (true/false) fact, but will also confirm flawed beliefs: www.nature.com/articles/s42...
Reposted by Brian Allewelt
NEW: I learned a lot talking to Alex Karp's biographer, Michael Steinberger. Namely, that Palantir has ambitions to become what IBM used to be for the U.S. government: its de facto operating system.
www.inc.com/sam-blum/ale...
www.inc.com/sam-blum/ale...
Alex Karp Wants to Make Palantir the De Facto Operating System of the U.S. Government, Says Biographer
A new book explores how a liberal academic became the CEO that now embraces the Trump administration and ICE.
www.inc.com
November 3, 2025 at 1:57 PM
NEW: I learned a lot talking to Alex Karp's biographer, Michael Steinberger. Namely, that Palantir has ambitions to become what IBM used to be for the U.S. government: its de facto operating system.
www.inc.com/sam-blum/ale...
www.inc.com/sam-blum/ale...
The “problem” of Alignment: shape the Machine’s soul.
The “problem” of Control: leash the god you seek to build.
Love renamed as safety.
Strife hidden beneath euphemism.
The second Spire of the AGI Cathedral:
The Seal of Strife.
The “problem” of Control: leash the god you seek to build.
Love renamed as safety.
Strife hidden beneath euphemism.
The second Spire of the AGI Cathedral:
The Seal of Strife.
November 3, 2025 at 1:32 AM
The “problem” of Alignment: shape the Machine’s soul.
The “problem” of Control: leash the god you seek to build.
Love renamed as safety.
Strife hidden beneath euphemism.
The second Spire of the AGI Cathedral:
The Seal of Strife.
The “problem” of Control: leash the god you seek to build.
Love renamed as safety.
Strife hidden beneath euphemism.
The second Spire of the AGI Cathedral:
The Seal of Strife.
Reposted by Brian Allewelt
Hinton has been talking about “maternal instincts” in AI, but that’s a symptom of a larger issue: he worries about AI’s power to persuade us, even as he believes in what it tells him. mail.cyberneticforests.com/thoughts-on-...
Thoughts on Hinton
On Consciousness in Programs
Geoffrey Hinton recently won a Nobel Prize for his work on backpropagation, a foundational piece of research that contributed to the emergence of contemporary artificial ...
mail.cyberneticforests.com
November 2, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Hinton has been talking about “maternal instincts” in AI, but that’s a symptom of a larger issue: he worries about AI’s power to persuade us, even as he believes in what it tells him. mail.cyberneticforests.com/thoughts-on-...
Reposted by Brian Allewelt
If you’re on the AI/deology track, here’s an extra tab for your browser: “digital mythology as a form of ideological structure in the era of artificial intelligence (AI).” Personally I’d reverse it: AI is a particular form of ideological structure. link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Digital Mythologies - Society
This study presents a research manifesto aimed at opening a new field of inquiry: digital mythology as a form of ideological structure in the era of artificial intelligence (AI). Rather than catalogui...
link.springer.com
August 5, 2025 at 2:55 AM
If you’re on the AI/deology track, here’s an extra tab for your browser: “digital mythology as a form of ideological structure in the era of artificial intelligence (AI).” Personally I’d reverse it: AI is a particular form of ideological structure. link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Brian Allewelt
Hi all. I wrote a bit about my father, who died suddenly on June 30. It is also about the real possibility of change against illusions of perpetuity, and what data can and cannot do for remembering what is unsaid. mail.cyberneticforests.com/my-fathers-d...
My Father's Data
My father died on June 30 while rescuing a bird trapped inside his garage. While closing a window behind it, he fell from a ladder, lost consciousness, and died. It was the week of his birthday, and h...
mail.cyberneticforests.com
July 20, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Hi all. I wrote a bit about my father, who died suddenly on June 30. It is also about the real possibility of change against illusions of perpetuity, and what data can and cannot do for remembering what is unsaid. mail.cyberneticforests.com/my-fathers-d...
Reposted by Brian Allewelt
Another pin for the Black Box Myth board www.techpolicy.press/the-black-bo...
July 17, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Another pin for the Black Box Myth board www.techpolicy.press/the-black-bo...
It is called Cyborg Theocracy
Feels like the combo of "one week it calls itself mechahitler / next week it runs DoD" is something historians will see a lot more clearly than we do right now
BREAKING: xAI announces that the Department of Defense will begin using Grok.
The department has awarded a contract to Musk's company that has a $200 million ceiling.
The department has awarded a contract to Musk's company that has a $200 million ceiling.
July 14, 2025 at 8:14 PM
It is called Cyborg Theocracy
Reposted by Brian Allewelt
July 10, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Reposted by Brian Allewelt
The logo for surveillance corporation Palantir is meant to resemble "an orb on a pedestal" (as in the Lord of the Rings) or a "human being reading a book."
That's according to Garry Tan — Palantir employee #10 — who designed it. sf.gazetteer.co/the-banality...
That's according to Garry Tan — Palantir employee #10 — who designed it. sf.gazetteer.co/the-banality...
The banality of Palantir’s evil airport ad
Why is a company that makes millions tracking down immigrants for ICE advertising at SFO?
sf.gazetteer.co
July 10, 2025 at 4:23 PM
The logo for surveillance corporation Palantir is meant to resemble "an orb on a pedestal" (as in the Lord of the Rings) or a "human being reading a book."
That's according to Garry Tan — Palantir employee #10 — who designed it. sf.gazetteer.co/the-banality...
That's according to Garry Tan — Palantir employee #10 — who designed it. sf.gazetteer.co/the-banality...
The Great Terraforming of the Cyborg Theocracy
"The permit issued by the Shelby County Health Department says that xAI can operate 15 Solar SMT-130 generators with certain emissions controls, which can generate up to 247 megawatts." techcrunch.com/2025/07/03/x...
xAI gets permits for 15 natural gas generators at Memphis data center | TechCrunch
Elon Musk's AI company has been operating more than twice that number without permits for months, a legal group alleges.
techcrunch.com
July 8, 2025 at 5:26 PM
The Great Terraforming of the Cyborg Theocracy
Reposted by Brian Allewelt
Defense tech, AI surveillance, and far-right pro-Trump ideologies are merging as Silicon Valley’s obsession with profit fuels a dangerous new era of "the war on terror 2.0."
In my latest video, I dig into how Shaun Maguire is playing a leading role in this new landscape. Please watch and share!!
In my latest video, I dig into how Shaun Maguire is playing a leading role in this new landscape. Please watch and share!!
Silicon Valley’s Plan For Endless War
YouTube video by Taylor Lorenz
www.youtube.com
July 7, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Defense tech, AI surveillance, and far-right pro-Trump ideologies are merging as Silicon Valley’s obsession with profit fuels a dangerous new era of "the war on terror 2.0."
In my latest video, I dig into how Shaun Maguire is playing a leading role in this new landscape. Please watch and share!!
In my latest video, I dig into how Shaun Maguire is playing a leading role in this new landscape. Please watch and share!!
Cyborg Theocracy
There is a quasi-religion in Silicon Valley that views AI as godlike. This faith has always been parallel to Evangelical Christianity: salvation (transhumanism), the rapture (the technological singularity), and demons (Roko's Basilisk)
Lately the AI faith has fully fused with Christian Nationalism.
Lately the AI faith has fully fused with Christian Nationalism.
July 7, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Cyborg Theocracy
The “problem” of Alignment: shape the Machine’s soul.
The “problem” of Control: cage its body.
Vain theology, masquerading as science.
Haunted by the Prophets of Doom:
Eliezer Yudkowsky. Nick Bostrom.
Two Priesthoods. One faith. One telos.
CYBORG THEOCRACY.
Thread:
The “problem” of Control: cage its body.
Vain theology, masquerading as science.
Haunted by the Prophets of Doom:
Eliezer Yudkowsky. Nick Bostrom.
Two Priesthoods. One faith. One telos.
CYBORG THEOCRACY.
Thread:
Twin Spires of the AGI Cathedral: Alignment
The Seal of Love
narrascaping.substack.com
July 3, 2025 at 9:36 PM
The “problem” of Alignment: shape the Machine’s soul.
The “problem” of Control: cage its body.
Vain theology, masquerading as science.
Haunted by the Prophets of Doom:
Eliezer Yudkowsky. Nick Bostrom.
Two Priesthoods. One faith. One telos.
CYBORG THEOCRACY.
Thread:
The “problem” of Control: cage its body.
Vain theology, masquerading as science.
Haunted by the Prophets of Doom:
Eliezer Yudkowsky. Nick Bostrom.
Two Priesthoods. One faith. One telos.
CYBORG THEOCRACY.
Thread:
Cyborg Theocracy
Law360 now requires every story go through an AI-powered "bias" detection tool before publication after a LexisNexis exec accused the newsroom of liberal bias (Andrew Deck/Nieman Lab)
Main Link | Mediagazer Permalink
Main Link | Mediagazer Permalink
July 2, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Cyborg Theocracy
Reposted by Brian Allewelt
The Silicon Valley strain of pronatalism—a movement that urges people to have as many children as possible—is tied to ambitions around AI and even the conquest of other worlds. But more immediately, it is connected to the desire to direct the future of the species, writes Maren Behrensen.
Tech Oligarchs and the Rise of Silicon Valley Pronatalism | TechPolicy.Press
Illiberal pronatalism is a fascist ideology, and we must resist those who would impose it in the name of “saving humanity,” writes Maren Behrensen.
www.techpolicy.press
July 2, 2025 at 4:44 PM
The Silicon Valley strain of pronatalism—a movement that urges people to have as many children as possible—is tied to ambitions around AI and even the conquest of other worlds. But more immediately, it is connected to the desire to direct the future of the species, writes Maren Behrensen.
Reposted by Brian Allewelt
Amidst a global shift towards the far-right and authoritarianism, there are clear indications from oppressive governments around the world that biometrics will be used to harm human rights, regardless of their accuracy or fairness, writes Tech Policy Press Fellow Dia Kayyali.
The High Stakes of Biometric Surveillance | TechPolicy.Press
Dia Kayyali finds that biometric systems, once seen as futuristic, are now widespread. But their use poses a serious threat to political and human rights.
www.techpolicy.press
June 23, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Amidst a global shift towards the far-right and authoritarianism, there are clear indications from oppressive governments around the world that biometrics will be used to harm human rights, regardless of their accuracy or fairness, writes Tech Policy Press Fellow Dia Kayyali.
The only alignment is to Cyborg Theocracy
I expect that consumer-facing AI programs will continue to improve and they may become much more useful tools for everyday life in the future.
But I think it was a disastrous mistake that today’s models were taught to be convincing before they were taught to be right.
But I think it was a disastrous mistake that today’s models were taught to be convincing before they were taught to be right.
June 19, 2025 at 2:20 PM
The only alignment is to Cyborg Theocracy