The "Rational" Conclusion

Alexander Campbell · Campbell Ramble · April 11, 2026 at 19:53 · ⏱ 6 min read  | Read on Substack ↗
Summary
The article argues that the AI doomer community's framework of near-certain extinction logically justifies preemptive violence against AI developers, as demonstrated by a recent Molotov cocktail attack. For markets, this signals rising reputational and operational risk for AI companies and potential regulatory backlash, but offers no actionable trade ideas.
  • Daniel Moreno-Gama, a 20-year-old PauseAI member, threw a Molotov cocktail at Sam Altman's house and threatened OpenAI headquarters, booked on attempted murder.
  • His Discord handle was 'Butlerian Jihadist' and he recommended Yudkowsky and Soares' book 'If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies' four months before the attack.
  • Yudkowsky's published position is that sufficiently intelligent AI will kill every human, and he has suggested airstriking data centers as preferable to a training run completing.
  • The article describes a 'purity spiral' where community members compete on p(doom) numbers, leading to calls to 'burn down' AI labs and threatening researchers.
  • When asked why he doesn't attack data centers, Yudkowsky's answer was strategic ('it wouldn't be effective'), not moral — implying restraint is temporary.
  • The author critiques the doomer worldview's conflation of intelligence with power, arguing that verbal reasoning does not entitle one to priestly authority over technology.
Read time 6 min
Length 6,939 chars
Category finance
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