Researcher calls AI doomerism 'nihilism dressed up as altruism' in X debate
jd_pressman · x · 2026-10-16
In an X exchange, jdpressman argues that AI doomerism's primary social purpose is to serve as a costly signal that one can voice offensive nihilistic takes without punishment — and says he doesn't buy it.
He elaborates that such rhetoric is offensive precisely because it is nihilism dressed up as altruism and idealism: the surface message is "won't the future be great," while the subtext is indifference to whether everyone and everything dies.
Related event: Researcher jd_pressman Rejects Successionism in AI Alignment Debate(9 posts)→
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