Q & A Part 1 -- Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality
This week we answered some questions from our Patreon supporters. It's like a mini episode on a bunch of different topics, including the worst book I've ever heard of. We covered Èmile's journey out of longtermism, Yudkowsky's Harry Potter fan fic, end-times narratives, and how we will one day beat the tech bros by withholding our labor. If you'd like to hear part 2 become a subscriber here: https://www.patreon.com/c/DystopiaNow  Articles Mentioned in This Episode and Further Reading  AI Ethics Louisiana is using a mysterious algorithm to decide who gets parole – The Verge https://www.theverge.com/news/647405/louisiana-tiger-algorithm-parole Why Sam Altman wants AI to say "please" and "thank you" – Quartz https://qz.com/open-ai-sam-altman-chatgpt-gpt4-please-thank-you-1851777047 TESCREAL and End Times End Times: How Fascism, the Far Right, Trump, and Musk are converging – The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/apr/13/end-times-fascism-far-right-trump-musk Overview of TESCREAL (by Èmile) The acronym behind our wildest AI dreams and nightmares – Truthdig https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-acronym-behind-our-wildest-ai-dreams-and-nightmares/ Effective Altruism & Scandals The sexual harassment scandal tearing Effective Altruism apart – TIME https://time.com/6252617/effective-altruism-sexual-harassment/ Sam Bankman-Fried funded 'woke shit' for transactional purposes, prosecutors allege – VICE https://www.vice.com/en/article/sam-bankman-fried-funded-woke-shit-for-transactional-purposes-prosecutors-allege/ The rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried – The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/mar/23/sam-bankman-fried-rise-and-fall-details Defective Altruism – Current Affairs https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/2022/09/defective-altruism Effective Altruism’s bait-and-switch: From global poverty to AI doom – Techdirt https://www.techdirt.com/2024/04/29/effective-altruisms-bait-and-switch-from-global-poverty-to-ai-doomerism/ Neoliberalism Neoliberalism’s World Order – Review of Quinn Slobodian's Globalists – Dissent https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/neoliberalism-world-order-review-quinn-slobodian-globalists/ The Bastards of Neoliberalism – New Statesman https://www.newstatesman.com/ideas/2025/04/the-bastards-of-neoliberalism The Geneva School, Hayek, and Neoliberal Nationalism – Jacobin https://jacobin.com/2022/11/neoliberalism-geneva-school-nationalism-mises-hayek Review of Hayek’s Bastards by Quinn Slobodian – The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/books/review/hayeks-bastards-quinn-slobodian.html Race Science, Neoliberalism & Hayek – Jacobin https://jacobin.com/2025/04/race-science-neoliberalism-hayek-slobodian Rationalism Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Methods_of_Rationality Transhumanism Beyond our ape-brained meat sacks: Can transhumanism save us? – The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/jun/04/beyond-our-ape-brained-meat-sacks-can-transhumanism-save-our-species The Frozen Father of Modern Transhumanism: Upwingers and Downwingers – VICE https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-frozen-father-of-moden-transhumanism/ Â
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40:40
Sam Altman Part 2: Doomsday Prepping and Simulation Hypothesis
Please consider becoming a subscriber on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/dystopianow/membership  This episode we began with a discussion of Peter Singer and eugenics ideas in the Effective Altruism community. And more Sam Altman-- his firing at Open AI, his doomsday prepping and his version of utopia.  Sam Altman & OpenAI Moore’s Law for Everything – Sam Altman’s Blog OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Is a Survivalist Prepper – Futurism Sam Altman’s Manifest Destiny – The New Yorker The Most Powerful Man in AI – New York Magazine  OpenAI Controversy The Real Story Behind Sam Altman's Firing From OpenAI – WSJ Former OpenAI Employee Sounds Alarm on Altman – Futurism Sam Altman Reinstated at OpenAI – The Guardian  Tech Utopias & Praxis Altman-Backed Praxis Eyes Kyiv and Athens for Tech Utopia – Bloomberg Praxis: Tech Dystopia as the Next America – The Nerd Reich  Science, Ethics & Philosophy Dyson Sphere – Wikipedia Simulation Hypothesis – Wikipedia The Matrix as Reality: Simulation Hypothesis Explained – Vox  Longevity & Biohacking Sam Altman Invested $180M in Anti-Aging Startup Retro Biosciences – MIT Technology Review  Ethics, Exploitation & Effective Altruism Red Cobalt: Mining in the Congo – NPR Shrimp Welfare Project – Official Site Introducing the Shrimp Welfare Project – Effective Altruism Forum Against Speciesism – Jacobin
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1:15:55
Sam Altman Part 1: Building God, Scanning Eyeballs
Become a member on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/DystopiaNow This week, we begin to explore the mystery that is Sam Altman of Open AI. We cover the AI Doomer coup, Sam's Worldcoin metal orb that scans your retinas, his friendship with Peter Thiel, and his views on restructuring our government with AItopia. We also talked about the weirdo tech billionaire plot to do a Mars colonization trial run on Greenland. An hour in, we had barely scratched the surface of Sam, so we'll be back with a Part 2. Further Reading on Sam Altman: The Inside Story of Sam Altman’s Ouster—and Reinstatement—at OpenAI – TIME https://time.com/6551117/sam-altman-openai-ouster-return/ Sam Altman’s Worldcoin Launches Amid Privacy Concerns – The Verge https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/24/23805254/worldcoin-sam-altman-iris-scanning-launch-privacy Sam Altman Has a Big, Scary Plan for the World – The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/08/sam-altman-worldcoin-openai-ai-ethics/674928/ Sam Altman’s Secret Fundraising Spree – The Information https://www.theinformation.com/articles/sam-altmans-secret-fundraising-spree OpenAI Drama: What Really Happened with Sam Altman – New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/22/technology/openai-sam-altman-chaos.html The Worldcoin Controversy Explained – MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/07/25/1076412/worldcoin-biometric-id-sam-altman/ Praxis & Greenland Articles Greenland 'Freedom City'? Rich donors push Trump for a tech hub up north – Reuters https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/greenland-freedom-city-rich-donors-push-trump-tech-hub-up-north-2025-04-10/ I Went to Greenland to Try to Buy It – TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2024/11/15/i-went-to-greenland-to-try-to-buy-it-meet-the-founder-who-wants-to-re-create-mars-on-earth/ Peter Thiel Thinks the Next Great City Should Be in Greenland – InsideHook https://www.insidehook.com/internet/peter-thiel-praxis-next-great-city-greenland Cybercity of the Future: How an Ambitious 29-Year-Old Plans to Build Praxis – NY Post https://nypost.com/2025/04/06/world-news/robo-cops-ai-schooling-food-from-3-d-printers-and-post-work-future-are-anticipated-for-praxians/ Tech Utopian Project Praxis Gets $525 Million in Commitments – Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/articles/tech-utopian-project-praxis-gets-525-million-in-commitments-for-planned-heroic-city-f4623e98 Altman-Backed Praxis Scouts Kyiv, Athens for Tech Utopia Base – Bloomberg https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-08/altman-backed-praxis-scouts-kyiv-athens-for-tech-utopia-base
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52:33
Curtis Yarvin
To become a Patreon subscriber and hear our bonus eps: https://www.patreon.com/c/DystopiaNow This week we talked about Curtis Yarvin and his vision of CEO/Monarchies, Network States for Tech Bros-- in the US. And Ezra Klein's more minor tech backed reforms. How much democracy should we have?   Â
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1:03:10
The Effective Altruists and the "Abundance" Movement
This week we talked about the "Abundance Agenda" and it's roots in the Effective Altruism movement. A network of think tanks, Silicon Valley billionaires, and centrist pundits are getting all riled up about zoning ordinances, and possibly trying to take over the Democratic Party? Oh boy. We explore the dark side of Effective Altruism, men's rights activists, IQ Realists, "race science," eugenicists and more lurking in a movement where the biggest scoundrels in society are mixing with Vox writers- EA! This episode was a wild ride, let us know what you think. We'll be back with Thiel Part 2 next week but we had to know-- why did an Atlantic writer podcast with a Nazi?  Further reading  By Èmile: https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-acronym-behind-our-wildest-ai-dreams-and-nightmares/  https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/jun/16/sam-bankman-fried-ftx-eugenics-scientific-racism  https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/12/opinion/richard-hanania-eugenics-billionaires.html  https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/richard-hanania-origins-of-woke-book/675348/  https://jacobin.com/2023/01/effective-altruism-longtermism-nick-bostrom-racism  https://theintercept.com/2019/09/06/exxon-mobil-progressive-policy-institute-climate/  https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/ruben-gallego-crypto-digital-assets-andreessen-yglesias-1235260013/  Â
Dystopia Now is a show where a comedian (Kate Willett) and an academic (Emile Torres) explore the philosophies and religions of Silicon Valley and tech billionaires shaping our country, our world, and our future.
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