Stapledon's "Last and First Men" as a Metaphor for AI Recursive Self-Destruction

jdpressman and teortaxesTex discussed Olaf Stapledon's sci-fi classic "Last and First Men," where each human species destroys itself by creating its successor, drawing parallels to recursive AI creation. jdpressman argued Stapledon strongly believed humanity's Promethean impulse means nothing can stop the creation of ever-new intelligent beings.

2026-09-30 ~ 2026-09-30 · 3 related posts

• jd_pressman on Stapledon's Last and First Men: each species of Man falls by creating its successor — jd_pressman · 2026-09-30
• jd_pressman: Stapledon assumed intelligent successors will keep creating new life until Man's final form — jd_pressman · 2026-09-30
• Recursing Stapledon: why intelligent successor species keep creating their own destroyers — jd_pressman · 2026-09-30