iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Faine Greenwood @faineg.com · 26/09/2026

Here is Eliezer Yudkowsky explaining (like a very normal person who absolutely does not have some kind of acute personality disorder) why, on the basis of his childhood test scores, he is a special genius uniquely qualified to change the world: web.archive.org/web/20010309...

5.2: Do you really think you can change the world?
Well, yes. After all, if I shouldn't believe that I can do it - or at least, that I have enough of a chance to make the effort worthwhile - who should?
That, at any rate, would be the argument I'd use if I were trying to set up a socially acceptable set of emotional bindings under which "I can change the world" sounds like a modest endeavor. "You can assign a suitably humble estimate to my chances of success as an individual, but if nobody tried, we'd be out of luck, wouldn't we?i
That's not what I tell myself.
Algernon's Law says that any simple (45) major intelligence enhancement will turn out to be a net evolutionary disadvantage. (46). The flip side of Algernon's Law is that there are some levels of performance that can't be achieved without the evolutionary disadvantage. If there were any way to duplicate the performance level of a Specialist without the downside, my SAT scores would be as common as mud; those performance levels would be part of the standard human neurology, like symbolic language or three-dimensional vision. I therefore expect that in any of my areas of Specialization - causal analysis, combinatorial design, reflectivity - I will have significantly more raw processing power than anyone except another Specialist.
Just because ten thousand dedicated researchers hit a problem and bounce, it is not a licensable conclusion that a Specialist will bounce off as well. A truly "impossible" problem often takes me a while to solve; I have to slog away at it steadily, whereas my usual rule is that I can see an answer instantly if I can see it at all. Conversely, if my level of processing power is enough to make slow but steady progress on a problem, then I would expect any non-Specialist to hit the problem and bounce. Which, to some extent, explains the travails suffered by Al.

The existence of Specialists expands the range of problems that humanity can solve. And because I don't know of any other Countersphexists operating in the fields of Al, transhumanism, or Singularitarianism (47), or of any other Countersphexists at all (48), then, for an important class of problems, I expand the range of problems that can be solved. In particular, I am referring to the problem of Al.
Oh, don't get me wrong - I'm sure AI would be solved eventually. In about 2020 CRNS (49), the weight of accumulated cognitive science and available computing power would disintegrate the ideological oversimplifications and create enough of a foothold in the problem to last humanity the rest of the way. It would be absurd to claim to represent the difference between a solvable and unsolvable problem in the long run, but one genius can easily spell the difference between cracking the problem of intelligence in five years and cracking it in twenty-five - or to put it another way, the difference between a seed Al created immediately after the invention of nanotechnology, and a seed Al created by the last dozen survivors of the human race huddled in a survival station, or some military installation, after Earth's surface has been reduced to a churning mass of goo.
That's why I matter, and that's why I think my efforts could spell the difference between life and death for most of humanity, or even the difference between a Singularity and a lifeless, sterilized planet. I don't mean to say, of course, that the entire causal load should be attributed to me; if I make it, then Ed Regis or Vernor Vinge, both of whom got me into this, would equally be able to say "My efforts made the difference between Singularity and destruction." The same goes for Brian Atkins, and Eric Drexler, and so on. History is a fragile thing. So are our causal intuitions, where linear chains of dependencies are concerned. Nonetheless, I think that I can save the world, not just because I'm the one who hap…

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Jeff VanderMeer @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social · 8h

They quoted me in this New Yorker piece about AI today. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

“Let’s say there’s a world or time line I exist in where A.I. has been subject to regulation. It is ethical. It has no footprint environmentally,” the novelist Jeff VanderMeer, a prominent critic of A.I., told me over the phone. “With those guardrails in place, would I read an A.I. book? All I can say is no. And the reason is, in part, because I want to read something coming from a particular mind.” Using A.I., he said, “feels like a betrayal of the whole point of why you’re a writer.”

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Cethan Leahy @cethanleahy.com · 11h

I think we underrate that JCO came up in 20th century New York literary circles where everyone said five most devastating insults before breakfast and as one of the last one standing, her competition is guys who get sad if their chatbot isn't sufficiently nice to them.

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Mrs. Detective Pikajew, Esq. @clapifyoulikeme.favrd.social · 29/09/2026

This is like a fucking SNL skit where studios keep making hockey shows instead of gay shows

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Alaska Public Media @alaskapublic.org · 21h

Meet Backpack, your 2026 Fat Bear Week champion. Backpack is 20 years old, weighs about 1,000 pounds and got his nickname because, as a cub, he loved riding on his mom's back across the Brooks River.

akpub.io

Meet Backpack, Fat Bear Week’s chunky champ

Backpack went from hitching a ride on his mom’s back to cross the Brooks River to winning the hearts of fat bear fans around the world.

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mtsw @mtsw.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

its worth asking why posts like this — a purported leftist warning others not to trust elected left-wing politicians — consistently do so well on the site where racist Trump ally Elon Musk controls the algorithm that chooses what posts people see

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mtsw @mtsw.bsky.social · 17h

look, if you're worried about being remembered, don't try to pursue immortality or whatever, the smart move is to start selling substandard copper and then make sure anyone who complains deposits a physical copy of that complaint in a site that will later be archaeologically significant

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Micah @rincewind.run · 29/09/2026

third way figured out dems should stop attacking trans people? third way?!

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rax ‘levon honkers’ king @raxkingisdead.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

i agree with the key point here and will add to it that there IS a reward, it’s knowing you did one right thing instead of walking around plagued by the nameless shame that afflicts all men who are determined to live the most frictionless lives possible

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Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I’m sorry, what? This piece was not a joint publication/ reporting job (as some are). It was @propublica’s alone and the Times followed with a summary. This is so indicative of NYT. If they don’t ignore proper credit, they just go for stolen valor.

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Nathan Goldwag @goldwagnathan.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Right now, the PA/Fatah supports a 2SS. Hamas (sort of) supports a 2SS. The Arab League supports a 2SS. The State of Israel unequivocally and very explicitly does not! If you think a 2SS is the best path forward, you need to be focused on bringing Israel in line with the international consensus.

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Nathan Goldwag @goldwagnathan.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

You will notice that at no point in this thread is there any engagement with actual Israeli policy, or the response of various Palestinian national movements, or how international law should be applied, etc, because it's mostly about his discursive enemies, rather than anything real or concrete.

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Matt @tiredgenerally.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

israelis are notably a minority within the territory they control and are (quite plausibly) doomed without western support, though i think neither of these things change the moral valence of israeli apartheid whatsoever

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Reconstructionist @unavaleable.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Every French presidential poll LADY HITLER - 35% JEAN D'AUSTÉRITÉ - 18% CHUD COMMUNISTE - 17%

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Sam @spratt.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

"social violence" is an extremely funny way to describe "someone making fun of me on bluesky"

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merritt @merrittk.com · 28/09/2026

Regrettably, I Find That I Must Reject the Left www.patreon.com/merrittk/posts/regrettably-i-i-170717499/

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James Without End @neverendingjim.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Whoever subtitled THE SYLVESTER AND TWEETY MYSTERIES choose not to bother with rendering the characters' speech impediments. Some lines make this choice more striking.

Tweety Bird from Looney Tunes leaning forward and to the left against a blank background with a leer on his face. The subtitle reads "Ooh. Silk looks flattering on pussy."

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 28/09/2026

“i woke up every morning and name searched myself on twitter. i am normal by the way”

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Sam @spratt.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

In this thread I am going to document all the patisseries we visit in France during this trip.

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Faine Greenwood @faineg.com · 27/09/2026

Women trying to succeed in Silicon Valley AI and effective altruist spaces are reporting feeling serious social pressure to attend sex parties - where people have reported being sexually assaulted, like below. Events like Aella’s “Slutcon,” which is happening again this weekend.

Ann Pierce
@itsannpierce
20h
I am disheartened by this as well. I already lost a bunch of followers for agreeing with @tautologer, but it's saddening to see local nerdy women being caricatured as Karen-like outsiders and getting pushed out of the scene. This is exactly why you hear so few concrete, names-attached stories of sexual harrassment and assault. I'm told there is a history of discrediting these because the "slut normalization" thing is top priority and these stories get inconveniently in the way of spreading this ideology.
I got roped into attending last year's Saturday Slutcon party because so many local and out-of-town friends were there (to echo sentiments @tautologer expressed about "slut events becoming central to the larger scenes). Mostly I hung out with people I knew and that was great. But in the course of my 3-ish hours there, there were 2 times my "no" was not accepted by a man I didn't know, and I was physically pushing a huge guy off of me who was rubbing his penis on me, who continued to do it despite my physical force against him, and after I finally wriggled away from him, told him I wanted to dance alone etc., he came back and did it again.
This was scary and bad, but it didn't even cross my mind to report this because one of the other people who didn't accept my "no" earlier in the night was the bartender (an officially sanctioned authority at the event), and I knew the event was organized exclusively by women into CNC (who are vocal about how rapey behavior turns them on), so I figured this sort of thing would just get me laughed at. And anyway, I heard there were a lot of other incidents like it. Later though, someone encouraged me to report this story to the organizers, and despite my embarrassment I did, so *they know* that this and other incidents happened. This is why they cut the Saturday night party this year and created a larger training program for the flirt girls - *because* of things like this last year. Yet the narrative bein…

People who haven't been to Slutcon are saying "it's just group therapy," "it's just innocent flirting." But the environment is much like a sex party in that many people are nude, there is making out and sex acts happening out in the open. I think it's pretty unreasonable to expect that every nerdy girl who likes rationalist bloggers or is into EA/AI safety should automatically be comfortable with this! That if she's not, there's something wrong with her, we don't want her in our scenes, etc.
Not to mention, it's explictly an event *for men*, where men are the clients and the "flirt girls" are the product. Last year I overheard an exchange where a man felt "led on" by a flirt girl and was trying to get her punished/kicked out. (A dynamic that seems inevitable in this context!)
Anyway- it does sound like they've upped their consent education a lot this year, are more organized, and that's good! As I've told my friends who are attending: I hope they have fun!
I heard several accounts last year of women who had no problems and really enjoyed the event. That's great!
Just... can we live in reality about this? There are real reasons why male-female sexual dynamics are tricky.
Encouraging autistic men who can't yet read body language to go around asking to see womens' boobs is maybe a bit ill-advised. Maybe not everyone should be/identify as a slut; maybe it's not for everyone.
And yeah, filtering the Bay Area Al safety scene down to only women who are super comfy with this eliminates *most* women - including many of the really smart, nerdy, weird women who've been in the larger scenes for years. What a loss for humanity.
I absolutely understand why people with a minority sexuality would want to create belonging, would want to create spaces for people like themselves. But why do it like this/at this cost?

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rax ‘levon honkers’ king @raxkingisdead.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

think all straight people who discoursed at great and punishing length about a western mass lesbian bar should have to give equal airtime to this. it’s your own community this time!

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Sam @spratt.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Words, words, fucking words

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Patrick Monahan @pattymo.com · 27/09/2026

I apologize to Rolling Stone for not, to my knowledge, having heard “Choosin Texas”, the most popular song in history. I will do better next time

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Doug Lindner @douglindner.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

We have lots of precedent in the common law tradition for liability attaching to harm a defendant didn’t cause *intentionally* but did cause negligently, recklessly, etc. The facts are new but the fact pattern is not

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Doug Lindner @douglindner.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

The question of whether AI can “go rogue” is largely irrelevant to the question of whether it’s important to hold AI oligarchs accountable for their AI’s actions. Computers don’t respond to incentives. People do. And however autonomous AI may appear, it still relies on corporate infrastructure.

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heresiarch @heresiarch.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

“This show is far superior to every other television show I’ve ever seen, up to and including Babylon Five.” Cannot read this sentence without an intense visual image of a person jamming glasses into the bridge of their nose

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curio (#8092D1) @codecurio.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

it is also deeply embarrassing

3 pictures that are a part of the article, each with a caption

Luffy: Christlike Luffy
Big Mom: Big Mom, the Whore of Babylon.
Kaidou, the dragon.

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curio (#8092D1) @codecurio.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

like, i also need people to know Peter Thiel thinks Luffy is a Christ figure, but we can start with harry potter fanfic

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Dave Conrad @dconrad.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

[guy who has only ever seen Buffy the Vampire Slayer seeing another TV show for the first time] I'm getting a lot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer vibes from this

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Vought is breaking the law but he is not “going rogue.” At his confirmation hearings, Vought told Republicans he would do this and they voted for him anyway. If they want to stop him, they still can via impeachment. They won’t.

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Sam @spratt.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Newsom wishes he had the menacing charm of Gul Dukat

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victoria mcnally @vqnerdballs.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Start by offering little miniature vans to warhammer enthusiasts and then slowly give them bigger ones over time

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Jorts (and Jean) @jortsthecat.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

If you adopted a feral cat to the inside and he keeps meowing maybe he just really wants to smoke real cigarettes. You don’t know what he was up to before

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optiMSTie @optimstie.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Folks, we're terribly sorry to announce that there was a LinkedIn spill that broke containment and leeched into Bluesky. While the spill is being handled, we ask that you refrain from discussions about synergy, hustle, paradigm shifts, and praise for grind culture. Thank you for your cooperation.

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Marie Gardiner @mariegardiner.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Well, we mostly added each other to starter packs, which was the style at the time.

Grandpa simpson from the i tied an onion to my belt which was the style at the time skit

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Sam @spratt.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

AES will regret defying the most powerful force in American politics: the podcast host

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Sam @spratt.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

About as close to a "knock it off, bozos" as a court ever gets

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Mrs. Detective Pikajew, Esq. @clapifyoulikeme.favrd.social · 25/09/2026

Manhattan says it’s bi visibility day again

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Kath Barbadoro @kathbarbadoro.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I just feel like if you’re going to tackle the widespread narcissist entitlement that’s actually a problem, maybe it’s the current most powerful people in the world and not the masking liberal arts lesbians

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Joe Dudek @joedudekjd.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

'Notwithstanding an affirmed final judgment on the merits that we are violating, among other things, the Convention Against Torture, we had planned to dump people in Burundi, Rwanda, and the Central African Republic. When the First Circuit found out, they told us to stop. For shame!'

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Peter @notalawyer.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Jake Tapper (moderating the 2028 Dem primary debate): Final question. Do you renounce the Western Massachusetts lesbian bar? Pete Buttigieg: I renounce it. Kamala: I renounce it. AOC: I renounce it. Gavin Newsom: I will be deploying the National Guard to Greenfield on day one of my administration.

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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 24/09/2026

Last night I planted an olive tree at Gracie Mansion with Palestinian families from Gaza. May peace be our future.

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rax ‘levon honkers’ king @raxkingisdead.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

used to hang out at this bar whose other regulars were mostly straight middle aged men and my god their drama. most of em were banned for pissing on the floor or stealing fistfuls of cash from the register. for some reason no one acted like it was a referendum on straightness maleness or ‘the left’

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#StupidSuez @diplomatofnight.com · 24/09/2026

83% of Democrats and 82% of *Republican* voters support the Van Hollen resolution to have the State Department review Israel’s involvement in the killing of US citizens in the West Bank

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Faine Greenwood @faineg.com · 24/09/2026

The immensely politically influential Eliezer Yudkowsky believes that nuclear war is better than letting AI get too smart - and hey, it’ll all work out for humanity if we make sure a small “reproductive population” survives the cleansing fire. Cool! Normal!

Sarah Shoker @SarahShoker • 5h
Replying to @ESYudkowsky and @Miles_Brundage
I disagree that you mentioned what it takes to live; you've gestured at nuclear risk. US military ops use a collateral damage estimate that they then compare to achievable military gains before making a decision to strike. How many people are allowed to die to prevent AGI?
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Eliezer Yudkowsky @ESYudkowsky
Replying to @SarahShoker and @Miles_Brundage
There should be enough survivors on Earth in close contact to form a viable reproductive population, with room to spare, and they should have a sustainable food supply. So long as that's true, there's still a chance of reaching the stars someday.
7:49 PM • Mar 31, 2023 • 297 Views
3 Likes 1 Bookmark

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New Kings Democrats @newkingsdems.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

A member asked how—if there are 1,142 eligible voters here (in person + proxies)—did 1,240 people supposedly vote?? The Chair continued to the next vote without answering the question, and threatened to have several members removed for continuing to ask about the funny math.

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Sam @spratt.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

dude looks like Racist Abe Lincoln

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Hunter Walker @hunterw.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Wow. Sounds like we should just shut down these companies and stop using it?

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