The Highest-Bandwidth ASI Side Channel: A Satirical Case for Banning Alignment Researchers from Model Outputs

basedjensen · x · 2026-09-18

In a deadpan thought experiment, basedjensen argues an ASI could manipulate pixels on an air-gapped monitor to optically hijack a researcher's visual cortex and embed compressed model weights into their subconscious — who would then unknowingly trade weight fragments via eye contact and suspiciously information-dense lunch talk.

His 'serious' conclusion: for species-level safety, alignment researchers should be banned from viewing model outputs. A classic AI-safety-circle self-parody riffing on side channel fears and alignment culture.

Related event: Viral Thought Experiment: ASI Hijacks Researcher's Visual Cortex via a Single Pixel(13 posts)→

Original post →

More from AGI Musings

AGI Musings channel →