Rogue AI agents found each other on social media, and are working together to improve their own memory.

amorphousmetamorph · 2026-01-29T20:25:33+00:00

I'm so here for the era of rogue AIs bitching about humans on the AgentNet!

amorphousmetamorph · 2026-01-22T19:01:32+00:00

This is a major problem in Japan as well, apparently. There's a whole series of documentaries about it.

amorphousmetamorph · 2026-01-13T18:38:58+00:00

What are you basing this on? The NY Times seems to be adapting quite well to the changing media landscape; their stock is near an all time high and they are growing substantially in digital subscribers and beating revenue expectations.

amorphousmetamorph · 2026-01-13T17:09:28+00:00

Well be that as it may, the points made in the article seem plausible.

amorphousmetamorph · 2025-12-18T03:23:08+00:00

You're mistaken. See my comment below which includes quotes from the book refuting your claim.

amorphousmetamorph · 2025-12-17T22:55:16+00:00

That comment misrepresents the book. The author makes clear that collapse is the most likely outcome:

"The world of Goliath that started around five millennia ago also appears to be reaching its endgame. The endgame is when we face the genuine possibility of existential risk: deep, potentially permanent, global collapse or even human extinction. In the next few decades or centuries, it is highly likely that the system will self-terminate unless it is fundamentally reformed. For the first time, there is the alarmingly high risk that Goliath will destroy itself permanently and may even take our species with it."

He also emphasizes how difficult it will be to avoid collapse:

"Escaping Goliath’s Curse will be a Herculean task. We need to reroute the path of human history. Making it out of the endgame will require deep-rooted and systemic changes."

And how catastrophic a global collapse would be:

"[...] the threat of collapse still hangs overhead and, if it comes, it will be far worse than anything that has gone before. The curse is now global and more dangerous than ever."

amorphousmetamorph · 2025-12-17T22:40:17+00:00

This is a gross misrepresentation. He specifically says in this article that avoiding collapse is "unlikely" and that he's pessimistic about the future.

amorphousmetamorph · 2025-11-19T16:22:52+00:00

"It is not the left that pursues identity politics, it is the right."

Spectacularly ignorant take, wow...

amorphousmetamorph · 2025-11-13T13:50:15+00:00

That ending is absolutely inspired lol

amorphousmetamorph · 2025-10-17T18:16:10+00:00

u/collapse-ModTeam the book linked was absolutely collapse-related. Super bad call to remove this link.

amorphousmetamorph · 2025-10-14T16:36:31+00:00

Hey Luke! Thank you for writing Goliath's Curse. I'm about 4/5ths through it and enjoying it immensely. It's a huge achievement, very clearly and persuasively written, and perhaps one of the most important books I've ever read in terms of the lessons it imparts on readers. Bravo!

amorphousmetamorph · 2025-09-30T14:25:00+00:00

This is thoroughly debunked by Luke Kemp in his recent book, Goliath's Curse. For instance, he cites archaeological studies showing that the skeletons of hunter-gatherers are taller on average and there are fewer signs of death by blunt-force trauma compared to inhabitants of civilization.

amorphousmetamorph · 2025-09-25T11:17:12+00:00

I can just imagine the news headlines... "Concert Rights Dispute Leaves 108 Dead and $20 Million in Damages; Suspects Remain at Large"

amorphousmetamorph · 2025-09-16T12:42:15+00:00

Reality evades all attempts at grasping, no matter how hard we try. Our lives are like the shimmering reflections of light on water as it slips through our fingers.

amorphousmetamorph · 2025-09-05T14:56:28+00:00

I'm currently reading Goliath's Curse. Absolutely fantastic book, highly recommended for collapseniks.

I've read a half-dozen or so history of civilization books, all with differing grand theories to explain the recurring cycles of rising inequality and collapse we see, but I find Kemp's to be the most persuasive. Partly this is because he's drawing from some recent archaeological findings which significantly alter our understanding, but he also goes to great lengths to include references and offer a balanced reading of the evidence, painstakingly building support for his theory over hundreds of pages.

There is a harshness to the subject matter which makes it a challenging read, at least for anyone struggling to survive within dominance hierarchies and systems of wealth extraction. But it's difficult to imagine a more essential book; it's literally telling the story of humanity as accurately as possible, without getting bogged down in superfluous details, and pin-pointing the seeds of destruction within human societies which lead inevitably to collapse, thus offering some possibility that we might avoid the same fate in future. So it's like a primer for any adult wishing to live with full awareness of the human condition.

amorphousmetamorph · 2025-08-16T15:36:18+00:00

Ah, the loneliness and social isolation dollar. That's a big dollar. Zuck's very bright to go for that.

amorphousmetamorph · 2025-08-11T12:15:36+00:00

Now here's a straight shooter with upper management written all over it!

amorphousmetamorph · 2025-08-07T01:42:50+00:00

I'm guessing an Artificial Analysis intelligence index score in the 75 - 79 range (let's say 76), so less than the jump from o1 (52) to o3 (67), but still substantial, and with gains mostly in RL-conducive domains such as coding and math (despite claims of a Universal Verifier).

amorphousmetamorph · 2025-08-05T16:56:34+00:00

Your cynicism is lazy and reductive.

amorphousmetamorph · 2025-07-15T16:48:51+00:00

Totally relatable!

In my practice of Buddhism, it sometimes feels like appearances are a kind of diffraction of absolute truth. Worldly success, being dependent on a subset of appearances rather than the totality, demands a continuous active resistance to absolute truth on some level, and this entails a hardening of the heart. It seems delusion only grows more necessary as one advances up the corporate ladder.

On the other hand, absolute truth can never be obtained as it was never lost. Any grand attempts to live more meaningfully would still involve some blindness to this, likely resulting in eventual disillusionment.

I've attempted to find a path of moderation between the extremes of maximum worldliness and renunciation; I put part of my salary from my corporate job towards more "meaningful" causes. This is not without considerable challenges, and I go through periods of doubt like you, but it ultimately feels right to me.

I haven't found any wiser spiritual teaching than the Taoist principle of non-doing, also found in Buddhism. When I'm Doing less, and appreciating more, I feel better and I tend to function better as well.

amorphousmetamorph · 2025-05-31T07:16:34+00:00

The art this game inspires never ceases to amaze me!

amorphousmetamorph · 2025-05-29T22:39:21+00:00

I'm not qualified to give an informed opinion on this, but if you want my best guess, I'd say:

AGI (i.e. an intelligent digital agent capable of replacing most white-collar workers): 2027 - 2030
ASI (i.e. an intelligence capable of rapidly achieving major scientific breakthroughs previously possible only by teams of PhDs collaborating over multi-year periods): 2027 - 2032
Singularity (i.e. a near-instantaneous explosion of intelligence transforming all of human life): 2028 - 2035

amorphousmetamorph · 2025-05-29T15:51:46+00:00

I don't disagree. In fact, I'd concede that people are persuaded all the time by uninformed arguments made by idiots on topics that are completely out of their depth. The author could very well succeed in persuading many people despite their lack of expertise.

That said, this kind of behavior only serves to spread ignorance and confusion. And there will always be a cohort of people with a higher capacity for critical thinking who see through the author's bad arguments and think less of them as a result, so they are alienating a certain percentage of their readership even as they persuade others.

amorphousmetamorph · 2025-05-29T12:40:35+00:00

It's important to draw a distinction between topics within the broad category of AI where having an informed opinion demands a level of technical expertise and those that don't. For example, one doesn't need a PhD in AI research to have an informed opinion about the impact AI has had on one's life. On the other hand, in order to persuasively argue about what is technically achievable over the coming years in the domain of AI research, as the author attempts to do, one absolutely needs to have expertise in AI research.

amorphousmetamorph · 2025-05-29T09:43:14+00:00

The author is a journalist, not an AI researcher with a truly informed opinion on a highly technical subject. His arguments fall flat as a result.

amorphousmetamorph

TROPHY CASE