"Anyone itching to press the universe-destroying button is untrustworthy": AI safety spat

jd_pressman · x · 2026-10-16

A fragment of an ongoing AI safety debate. Discussing a thought experiment, jdpressman argues that even if the button doesn't exist, someone who goes around saying "I want to press the button that destroys the universe so bad—the next universe will be so good" is antisocial and untrustworthy 99%+ of the time. His point: judge people by their eagerness for the destructive act rather than the heavenly promise attached to it—widely read as a jab at accelerationist narratives.

Related event: Researcher jd_pressman Rejects Successionism in AI Alignment Debate(9 posts)→

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