In late 2024, a viral meme captured something unsettling about our technological moment. The “Claude Boys” phenomenon began as an X post describing high school students who “live by the Claude and die by the Claude”—AI-obsessed teenagers who “carry AI on hand at all times and constantly ask it what...
Watch the Cosmos Mission Video Earlier this year, I explored the debates around AI and found two main views shaping the conversation today: Existential pessimism sees AI as an apocalyptic threat, urging us to hit the pause button. This is not only impossible in an open society but also unwise....
In late 2024, a viral meme captured something unsettling about our technological moment.
The “Claude Boys” phenomenon began as an X post describing high school students who “live by the Claude and die by the Claude”—AI-obsessed teenagers who “carry AI on hand at all times and constantly ask it what to do” with “their entire personality revolving around Claude.”
The original post was meant to be humorous, but hundreds online genuinely performed this identity, creating websites like claudeboys.ai and adopting the maxim. The meme struck a nerve because the behavior—handing decisions to an AI—felt less absurd than inevitable.
It’s easy to laugh this off as digital-age absurdity, a generational failure to develop independent judgment. But... (read 1945 more words →)
Where it says "coming soon" above, we just launched the essay contest: https://cosmosinstitute.substack.com/p/your-ideas-on-human-autonomy-in-the?r=2z1max
Thank you! As time goes on, we may branch out. My wife left the tech world to become a mental health counselor, so it's something we discuss frequently. Appreciate the kind words and suggestion.
Earlier this year, I explored the debates around AI and found two main views shaping the conversation today:
Existential pessimism sees AI as an apocalyptic threat, urging us to hit the pause button. This is not only impossible in an open society but also unwise. Imagine if we had paused before Darwin or Einstein. The loss to humanity would have been immense.
On the other hand, accelerationism embraces technological progress with unbridled optimism. Yet for some proponents, the human good is pushed to the margins–tech becomes an end in itself, with humans merely a stepping stone toward a post-human future.
I understand the appeal of saving humanity from extinction and the... (read 1612 more words →)
Yes 👍