The topic of the discussion was "AI", narratives and the future of truth, and we hit on the themes you might expect.
The last ~15min were for audience questions, of which the last question was:
"What's up with California?"
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The asker elaborated to say he was wondering what was behind all of the Doomers, not just the CEOs who obviously profit from the existential risk narrative (as already discussed in the panel) but in particular the employees & self-styled "whistle-blowers" w/o the same apparent incentives.
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I jumped in with the first response and said, "It's a cult." Everyone laughed, and then I said, "I'm serious. It's actually a cult." and elaborated some on TESCEALists, their shared mythology, and how bananas it all is.
My co-panelist then picked up their mic and said, "It's a cult." ... and elaborated further.
>>
It was actually very satisfying & I think effective to have our clear points of disagreement in the background when both pushing back so clearly on the TESCREAList nonsense.
I'm grateful to the organizers for not pairing me with someone who in fact is an adherent (though that population is less dense outside the US & UK, I think) and also to my co-panelist for also being willing to speak clearly on this point.
/fin
@emilymbender
Was the discussion recorded?
@hllizi No.
@emilymbender @hllizi
Was there anybody in the crowd with a suspicious outfit that looked like it possibly concealed 1970s era spy equipment? Possibly an off brand mouse mascot with a reel-to-reel tape recorder in his hat?
Update: I have been informed of-thread that this might not be the best way to express interest in a bootleg recording of the panel.
Oct 13, 2026, 2:21 PM@EndlessMason @emilymbender @hllizi i think the try deserves an A for effort though :D
@emilymbender @hllizi
😭
Would/could you share who the other panelist was?
Oct 13, 2026, 1:03 PM@emilymbender Is there a blog or article anywhere that sums up what you said?
Oct 13, 2026, 1:13 PM@emilymbender thanks, much appreciated
Oct 13, 2026, 4:51 PM@emilymbender @faduda The religious fascination with AI and robots in general is contained in the etymology of the word “robot,” itself. It is an interest in slavery. People who work for you without any pesky consent issues. The same fantasy as Weird Science. The intention being to make a pretty girl that can’t say no. And presumably doesn’t need take bathroom breaks or paychecks. I don’t know, that movie shows up in my head every time I think about tech bros and TESCREAL. I really don’t recall how it turned out.
Oct 13, 2026, 2:16 PM@emilymbender This is really good to hear. Feels like a step towards the shared reality we have lost.
Oct 13, 2026, 8:17 AMWas only a few days ago musing about the resonance between est / Landmark and TESCREAL, as both manifestations of the same culture, broadly speaking, that also gives us Trader Joes.
@emilymbender whenever I've tried to explain to normal people what TESCREALists actually believe, they think *I'm* crazy, because it all sounds so cartoonishly ridiculous.
Oct 13, 2026, 8:44 AM@datarama @emilymbender I had to look TESCREAL up and blimey! It's "Scientology, hold my beer" territory. Where's Max Zorin? We need Silicon Valley flooded and fast!
Oct 13, 2026, 8:58 AM@toxy @datarama @emilymbender Now I have to go Google! Is this the loony "Tech has to be pushed forward hard, so we can all die and also be saved by technology" idea?
Oct 13, 2026, 9:01 AM@toxy @datarama @emilymbender Yeah, it is. Nutters... It's right up there with "every sperm is sacred", but that was a parody.
@Dss @toxy @emilymbender "AI will become an almighty electronic god which will kill us all but also save us all somehow, and it will be omnibenevolent and create trillions of digital humans to live in eternal simulated bliss, but also it will create a simulation of you and torture it forever if you didn't invest in AI companies. And also that simulation is actually you, your actual consciousness will come back into the simulation and you will experience all the torture inflicted on the simulation, why not?".
@Dss @toxy @emilymbender Seriously. Actual bronze age mythologies were more coherent.
Oct 13, 2026, 11:06 AM@datarama @toxy @emilymbender You're not seeing "the big picture", clearly. "they" could clone you a trillion times and stimulate, er, simulate death and torture. Because they're so benevolent, you see!
Crazy theology. And would also apply to any all-powerful god, too, tbqh.
Oct 13, 2026, 11:41 AM@Dss @datarama @emilymbender A trillion times? Clone me just once and even Sam “Carter Burke” Altman would realise his mistake.
Yup
@datarama @emilymbender It would be different if we didn't have their own statements and a mountain of receipts. No fiction writer would construct this universe because it's so unbelievably bonkers and stupid. Yet here we are.
@arclight @emilymbender I bet the two people in this subthread (@Dss , @toxy ) who didn't already know about our very special friends looked it up, and went through the process everyone does: "This is a bit. Right? This *has* to be a bit. Surely nobody ... oh. Fuck."
@arclight @emilymbender TESCREAL is a fractally fucked-up cult. In some amazing, mathematically perfect way, it is impossible to zoom in on a single fucked-up part of it without it being, somehow, precisely as fucked up as the whole.
@datarama @emilymbender @Dss @toxy "Surely Borat will make an appearance and this will all make sense, right? Right?..."
@datarama yeah, this is one thing I don’t say to too many people because it’s just absurd to believe people think like this. 😭
@emilymbender Nice, now I can add citations when saying "It's a cult".
@emilymbender Hopefully the meeting went well!
Did you take time to look at negative effects of AI on our planet and what the possible solutions could be taken?
Wow mastodon mansplainers never quit, do you?
Based on my description of one aspect of a meeting you weren't at you feel the need to tell me how to do my job?
@emilymbender Not really but I only wanted to know if it was part of your meeting agenda.
@2003MugishaPhocit Not actually any of your business!
@emilymbender Yeah,and my business is all about promoting sustainable agriculture and environmental conservation in Central Uganda communities, where I train young people and local farmers about sustainable agriculture and the environment conservation part.
And I wish you could join our long journey that is aimed to empower communities as well as families
@2003MugishaPhocit I am very much on top of the negative environmental impact of this and talk about it all the time.
When I say none of your business, I'm saying that the particular event I wrote a thread about is none of your business and I don't appreciate the suggestion that you have input into how I do my job.
@emilymbender okay,thanks for enlightening me more about what you said, and you were right to say that your meeting was none of my business!
However, I appreciate that you are also advocating for our environment!
And what are other ways are you doing this work of making more awesomeness about environment to people?
I would like that we share knowledge and ideas about our mutual work we are doing