AI Safety Is Mostly a Sex Cult in Berkeley, California
An opinion-style newsletter post argues that AI safety discourse is centered on a Berkeley-based group around Eliezer Yudkowsky, which the author calls a 'sex cult.' It claims Yudkowsky and related organizations such as MIRI, LessWrong, and the Effective Altruism community have shaped major AI labs including OpenAI and Anthropic, and that their advocacy serves their own influence and funding. The text relies on associations, screenshots, and characterizations rather than documented evidence for its central claims.
Open original source www.verysane.aiOne primary source; other links are context, not independent corroboration.
- Primary sourceHacker News · AI
- Discovery linkHacker News
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- Fetched source page+30
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An opinion-style newsletter post argues that AI safety discourse is centered on a Berkeley-based group around Eliezer Yudkowsky, which the author calls a 'sex cult.' It claims Yudkowsky and related organizations such as MIRI, LessWrong, and the Effective Altruism community have shaped major AI labs including OpenAI and Anthropic, and that their advocacy serves their own influence and funding. The text relies on associations, screenshots, and characterizations rather than documented evidence for its central claims.
Key findings from the stored brief
- The post asserts that Yudkowsky and MIRI popularized terms such as 'AI Alignment' and 'AI Safety'.
- It claims OpenAI and Anthropic have cited Yudkowsky or MIRI at least a dozen times.
- The author alleges overlap between Bay Area rationalists and Effective Altruists in people, events, and locations.
- The post characterizes the community as a 'sex cult' and argues its advocacy serves its members' funding and status.
Source claims not independently checked; the 'sex cult' characterization and assertions about motives are opinion, not established fact.
This is a source-based abstract, not independent validation of the source's claims.
Evidence & sources
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A community post points to the original link. Discussion and upvotes do not establish accuracy.
Timeline & updates
- Signal dated by source or discovery feed
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- Shared brief stored
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Why this may matter
Questions about who shapes AI safety policy and whether advocacy groups have undisclosed interests bear on how policymakers weigh expert input. However, this post's most charged claims are opinion and insinuation rather than verified findings.
Limits and open questions
Source claims not independently checked; the 'sex cult' characterization and assertions about motives are opinion, not established fact.
Organization-specific financial, security, and operational effects require the organization's own context and review.
Discussion
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