Evangelion, Pluribus, and Our Nightmarish AI Future

Описание: Recent months have seen the rise of pushback against AI, from those citing the dangers of AI companionship to vulnerable people and production of non-consensual SA material involving minors to what happens when we build systems far more intelligent than ourselves. But while the current risks of AI and the long-term existential threat of AGI and ASI have been widely discussed, not a lot has been said in terms of the dangers of the ideological beliefs fueling the AI acceleration in Silicon Valley, namely those within the TESCREAL movement.

Using a critical theoretical lens, Bonnibel demonstrates the importance of this angle of critique. Taking cues from the sci-fi traditions of the 1995 anime Neon Genesis Evangelion, the 2006 novel Blindsight, and the 2025 series Pluribus, this video essay examines the rise of tech-driven benevolent apocalypse beliefs among Silicon Valley billionaires and their associates. They ask the viewer to reflect on what humanity means and what we would like to leave behind as a legacy for the far future, to keep building alternatives and to resist the manufacturing of consent for anti-democratic technological advancement.

Raine vs. OpenAI legal complaint document: https://www documentcloud.org/documents/26078522-raine-vs-openai-complaint/

Learn more about TESCREAL at https://www.dair-institute.org/projec...

Key chapters:
00:00 — Introduction
02:46 — Silicon Valley Entertains Human Extinction
07:01 — Nobody Agrees on What Being Human Means
11:32 — Is Consciousness Always Good?
15:26 — Baby, Let's Keep the Lights On
19:09 — Disobedience is the Only Ethical Choice

#writing #evangelion #pluribus #blindsight #scifi #sciencefiction #transhumanism #posthumanism #artificialintelligence #artificialgeneralintelligence #artificialsuperintelligence #politics #democracy #authoritarianism #peterthiel #elonmusk #markzuckerberg #samaltman #openai #singularity #tescreal #marcandreessen #danfagella #jacqueslacan #poststructuralism #psychoanalysis #literaryanalysis #mediatheory #mediastudies #philosophy #anarchism #sociology #anthropology

This channel explores pop culture, stories, and contemporary social event through the lenses of philosophy and critical theory, extracting practical writing lessons writers can apply to work to enhance their craft.

Made with free-royalty footage and music from Storyblocks, with Unsplash photography by Senad Palic, Raymond Yeung, and Emilipothèse.

Contains media from:
Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995 TV Series) dir. Hideaki Anno (c) Studio Khara
Pluribus (2025 TV Series) created by Vince Gilligan (c) Apple TV/Apple Inc.
Psychoanalyse (1974 Film) dir. Benoit Jacquot (c) ORTF

News clips and interviews courtesy of:
Control AI
AI in Context
Interesting Times with Ross Douthat
The Rich Eisen Show
Libertopia
CBS Mornings
A Bit Fruity