Neolabs like Flapping Airplanes are 'self-deception and con artistry', argues researcher
tenobrus · x · 2026-10-23
A pointed critique circulating on X argues that most "sky-high-target" neolabs — Flapping Airplanes being the example — are a mix of extremely successful self-deception and con artistry.
- Except for a few (thinky and SSI), many multi-billion-dollar-valued labs have little hope of achieving their stated missions, even if some could scrape by on enterprise sales and consulting.
- The author's model: these labs exist mainly as wrappers — letting ambitious people feel more autonomous than they would at a frontier lab, and letting investors feel less bad about missing an early Anthropic allocation.
- The quoted article was written Aug 31 when the raise was still a rumor; with the fundraise now official, the author reposted demanding "real answers this time."
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