Most commenters refer to cultists as if they are not them. Wrong. Understanding how the brain works--how it clings to belief--does not place one outside his own brain.
It is our emotional core of thought that leads to irrational attachment to belief. If machine intelligence can precipitate around a different "thought model" it may escape most(?) of the irrationality of its forerunners.
Progress comes from the persons willing to be different and create a new approach to solving problems--or entire new industries. Conformity is the bane of the politically correct approach to "consensus." In a conformity environment the best one can hope for is a local optimum solution that will likely be outworn quickly as reality sets in.
The rush to premature consensus destroys the possibility of achieving a global optimum.
In Russia and China one can be shot for being different. In the west, one is merely ostracized and demonized.