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17 SEP 2026 · Hacker News · 205 pts · 157 comments ↗

The AI safety community is heavily influenced by a sex cult centered around Eliezer Yudkowsky, who popularized the concept of "paperclip maximization" and has connections to influential figures in the field. This cult-like behavior is characterized by a shared neurosis about AI's potential to cause harm and a tendency to recruit young idealists into their movement. The community's emphasis on mitigating the risks of superintelligence and its tendency to frame regulations in terms of "stop," "pause," or "slow down" are indicative of a millenarian death cult mentality. AI summary