The Rational Conclusion of Doomerism Is Violence
4 hours ago
- #Extremism
- #AI Safety
- #Rationalism
- A 20-year-old Daniel Moreno-Gama, an active PauseAI member, threw a Molotov cocktail at Sam Altman's house and threatened to burn down OpenAI headquarters, citing AI existential risks.
- The AI Doomer community, including figures like Eliezer Yudkowsky, promotes certainty of human extinction from AI, leading to escalation where members compete in commitment, sometimes justifying extremism.
- The incident highlights the conflict between verbal intelligence in constructing risk arguments and practical inability to build AI systems, critiquing the movement as a 'priesthood' with flawed conflation of intelligence and power.
- Author argues that the doomer framework inherently produces violent outcomes when taken literally, as seen with Moreno-Gama, and criticizes the strategic rather than moral restraint shown by leaders.
- The text positions this as background for the author's 'New New Deal' worldview, emphasizing real-world issues like war and debt over AI concerns, while disclaiming advocacy on AI safety.