LibertyCon 38

This presentation explores Roko’s Basilisk, one of the most notorious and controversial thought experiments to emerge from online discussions about artificial intelligence, decision theory, and existential risk. At its core, Roko’s Basilisk asks whether a hypothetical future superintelligent AI might have incentives to punish people who knew about its possible creation but failed to help bring it into existence.  Harlan Ellison's story "I have no Mouth and I must Scream" will be discussed as an oddly prophetic story years before Roko proposed his thought experiment.

The presentation will unpack the Basilisk in clear, accessible terms, beginning with the intellectual context in which it appeared. It will explain the assumptions required for the thought experiment to work, including the possibility of an artificial superintelligence having god like powers combined with petty grievances against individual humans who either helped or hindered its creation.

Beyond the technical argument, the talk will also consider Roko’s Basilisk as a cultural artifact. Why did such an abstract and speculative idea become frightening to some readers? What does its spread reveal about online communities, memetic hazards, and the psychological impact of extreme thought experiments?