Roko's basilisk
Publication dates and source age
Sources counted: 2
Publication dates are unavailable.
Assessed at this edition's evidence cutoff: 2026-09-15. 18-month boundary: 2025-03-15.
Some publication dates are unknown; the newest dated source may not be the newest source overall.
Publication age does not tell us whether a claim is still valid. Reading an old source again does not make its publication date newer. An update date does not establish that the passage we used was updated.
Open in the glossary Reading notes · Structured record
In plain language
A disputed thought experiment imagining threats from a future AI; LessWrong's retrospective says the argument was broadly rejected. [1]
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Limits & distinctions
LessWrong's retrospective says the argument was broadly rejected. A temporary discussion ban helped make it notorious; the ban is not evidence that the community accepted it. [1] [2]
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A fuller explanation
A 2010 LessWrong argument imagined a future AI using threats against people who knew about it but did not help bring it about. The scenario relies on unusual assumptions about decision-making, prediction and incentives. [1]
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How it relates to the map
Part of the history of AI-related internet debate, not evidence for an actor's coordinates or an established future threat. [1]
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https://theaiatlas.org/ideas/basilisk/
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Sources and what we read
1. Roko's Basilisk
Publication dates and source age
Sources counted: 1
Publication dates are unavailable.
Assessed at this edition's evidence cutoff: 2026-09-15. 18-month boundary: 2025-03-15.
Some publication dates are unknown; the newest dated source may not be the newest source overall.
Publication age does not tell us whether a claim is still valid. Reading an old source again does not make its publication date newer. An update date does not establish that the passage we used was updated.
Read the community retrospective, objections and moderation account. Original deleted post not independently retrieved. Historical claims are attributed to this account.
2. A few misconceptions surrounding Roko's basilisk
Publication dates and source age
Sources counted: 1
Publication dates are unavailable.
Assessed at this edition's evidence cutoff: 2026-09-15. 18-month boundary: 2025-03-15.
Some publication dates are unknown; the newest dated source may not be the newest source overall.
Publication age does not tell us whether a claim is still valid. Reading an old source again does not make its publication date newer. An update date does not establish that the passage we used was updated.
Read the community response and quoted objections in the initial retrieval; a later fetch timed out. Used for disputed assumptions, not proof about hypothetical agents. Exact publication date was not independently established.
Edition and machine-readable evidence
Content version 0.20.0. Evidence cutoff 2026-09-15; this does not mean every source was read on that day.
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