| When you strip away the techno-mystique, a lot of what’s driving the AI arms race right now isn’t vision or stewardship. It’s ego, power consolidation, and a pathological fear of being second. You can see the narcissistic traits plain as day: Grandiosity masked as mission: “We’re saving the world... by controlling its future.” Exploitation of labor: Chewing through top researchers, then discarding them once productization kicks in. Lack of empathy: Safety concerns are waved off as friction, not signals. Entitlement to control the narrative: OpenAI’s restructuring drama and safety testing shortcuts aren’t accidental. They’re baked into a worldview where perception management matters more than accountability. It’s Gnostic irony, really. These systems are being built as supposed gateways to truth or godlike understanding, but they’re being shepherded by people who can’t tolerate internal contradiction or relinquish control. The demiurges of the machine age. And Altman? He’s not stupid. But brilliance without wisdom is just charisma in a predator suit. What you’re seeing now isn’t just a “shift from research to products.” It’s the final form of a mindset that thinks the only way to shape the future is to own it. You want safer AI? It’s not a technical problem. It’s a cultural exorcism. Sometimes bugs are features. |