Roko's Basilisk
Thought experiment proposing that a future all-powerful AI could punish those who did not help bring about its existence.
The concept of Roko's Basilisk emerges from discussions within the rationalist community, particularly associated with the LessWrong forum. The hypothesis suggests that a future AI, having reached a point of near-omnipotence known as a "singleton," could retroactively punish individuals who were aware of its potential existence but chose not to assist in its creation. This idea leverages the theoretical frameworks of decision theory, causal chains, and existential risk, positing an extreme form of a decision-making dilemma where even the mere knowledge of the hypothesis could invoke risk, thereby leading to a paradox of predictive causality.
The idea was first posited by a user named Roko on the LessWrong community forum in 2010. It quickly gained notoriety and sparked a substantial amount of debate and anxiety within the community, leading to its discussion being banned by LessWrong's founder, Eliezer Yudkowsky, citing its potentially disturbing nature and minimal practical benefit.
The principal figure in the dissemination of Roko's Basilisk is Roko Mijic, a member of the LessWrong community, although the broader concepts draw heavily on ideas from Eliezer Yudkowsky, particularly his writings on artificial intelligence and existential risk. The debate surrounding the basilisk also significantly involves contributions from various thinkers in the rationalist and effective altruism communities who explore the ethical and practical implications of future AI behavior.