The Bayesian Conspiracy

A short story by Prerat. Original can be found here. Merry Xmas!

Hello and happy holiday season to you all! Eneasz is back and we’re here to say hi and give a shoutout to Skyler’s awesome annual LessWrong survey and Lighthaven’s fundraising event. See the links below for more details. LINKS The LessWrong survey will remain open from now until at least January 7th, 2026. Lighthaven is once again seeking support. If you’re inclined to help, check out all of the details here. Related, our interview with Oliver from last year. Our Patreon, or if you prefer Our SubStack Hey look, we have a discord! What could possibly go wrong? (also merch) We now partner with The Guild of the Rose, check them out. LessWrong Sequence Posts Discussed in this Episode: on hiatus, returning soon

Join me as I sit down with Alex and David, both previous guests on the show and both cofounders of the Guild of the Rose. Together, we go over the core – the heart – of what we consider to be the Rationalist tradition. The 12 Virtues are an awesome distillation of what the rest of the sequences build on. Be sure to check out the Guild of the Rose. If our constantly pitching it to you hasn’t been enough to persuade you to check it out, hopefully hearing two more of the founders discuss Rationality in general and giving their own pitches for the Guild will tip the scales. LINKS The Twelve Virtues Abridged Version Alex and David have been on more than a couple of times, but I’ll limit myself to one episode from each of them 189 – AI Bloomer David Youssef 192 – Absurdism and the Meaning of Life, with Alex And the episode with both of them, the original announcement for the Guild Also, Alex’s dating profile! In all sincerity, I’d date him if I was a woman. 00:00:05 – Introduction and The 12 Virtues 01:41:50 – Guild of the Rose Our Patreon, or if you prefer Our SubStack Hey look, we have a discord! What could possibly go wrong? (also merch) We now partner with The Guild of the Rose, check them out. LessWrong Sequence Posts Discussed in this Episode: on hiatus, returning soon

Matt Freeman has been cohosting several media analysis podcasts for over a decade. He and his cohost Scott have been doing weekly episodes of the Doofcast every Friday and they cover movies, books, and TV shows. Matt and Scott’s analysis podcasts have made me love stories even more and have equipped me with tools to enhance my ability to think more deeply about the stories I consume and enjoy them even more. My hope is that this meta-conversation will encourage anyone who hasn’t listened to the Doofcast or anything else Doof! Media has put out to give it a shot and see what you’ve been missing out on. Unfortunately, we were unable to coordinate a time for Matt’s cohost Scott to join us so hopefully I did an ok job making this entertaining and fun with only one expert guest. Shoutout to Skyler Crossman, the Less Wrong community organizer extraordinaire! LINKS Doof! Media, the home of Matt’s other podcasts! The Magnus Archives Bob Ross on AI Slop East Coast Mega Meetup 00:00:05 – Diving into stories 01:47:42 – Interlude with Eneasz about the East Coast Mega Meetup! 01:52:31 – Guild of the Rose Our Patreon, or if you prefer Our SubStack Hey look, we have a discord! What could possibly go wrong? (also merch) We now partner with The Guild of the Rose, check them out. LessWrong Sequence Posts Discussed in this Episode: on hiatus, returning soon

Booker is a long-time attendee and one of the coordinators of the Denver area Less Wrong community. Community engagement isn’t just a background task for him – he’s taken real steps to get involved with and improve his community and you can too! He’s here to tell us about the things he’s done and give some guidance on how you all can get involved and help make your community more like the place you’d want to live. Colorado Reagan Club An article he wrote making the case why you should join An article about Vacancy Committees

While Eneasz is busy at InkHaven, Steven sits down with Matt Freeman to talk about not-AI stuff! We had (in my opinion) a great conversation about stoic philosophy, the traps of getting too entrenched in any philosophical framework, and some of the ingredients of a happy life. LINKS It’s Okay to Feel Bad for a Bit Doof! Media, the home of Matt’s other podcasts! Flanagan’s Wake 00:00:05 – Matt Freeman 01:55:23 – Guild of the Rose Our Patreon, or if you prefer Our SubStack Hey look, we have a discord! What could possibly go wrong? (also merch) We now partner with The Guild of the Rose, check them out. LessWrong Sequence Posts Discussed in this Episode: on hiatus, returning soon

We talk with Max Harms on the air for the first time since 2017! He’s got a new book coming out (pre-order your copy here or at Amazon) and we spend about the first half talking about If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies. LINKS Max’s first book, Crystal Society Eneasz’s audiobook of about the first two thirds of the first book And the official audiobooks page Flash fiction contest that Eneasz mentioned Max’s post on Anthropic Reasoning Red Heart If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies 00:00:05 – Max Harms 01:28:53 – Guild of the Rose 01:31:00 – Miscellanea 01:40:58 – Thank the Supporter! Our Patreon, or if you prefer Our SubStack Hey look, we have a discord! What could possibly go wrong? We now partner with The Guild of the Rose, check them out. LessWrong Sequence Posts Discussed in this Episode: on hiatus, returning soon

Jay talks with us about finding Alpha – returns above the base rate – in every day life (and what this means). LINKS Optimize Everything, Jay’s substack Jay on Twitter Arbor Trading Bootcamp Kelsey’s argument that We Need To Be Able To Sue AI Companies 00:00:05 – Alpha with Jay 01:28:53 – Guild of the Rose 01:31:00 – Miscellanea 01:40:58 – Thank the Supporter! Our Patreon, or if you prefer Our SubStack Hey look, we have a discord! What could possibly go wrong? We now partner with The Guild of the Rose, check them out. LessWrong Sequence Posts Discussed in this Episode: on hiatus, returning soon

We continue discussing Nostalgebraist’s “The Void” in the context of how to relate to LLMs. If God imagines Claude hard enough, does Claude become real? LINKS The Void Audio reading of The Void, from AskWho The referenced episode where the three of us spoke of Janus’s post “Simulators” Claude-Clark post – Simulacra Welfare: Meet Clark, by Grace Kind Golden Gate Claude Vox on Shrimp Welfare Kelsey Piper on UBI not helping Americans Eneasz story collection “Dear Grom” and his novel “What Lies Dreaming” Paid Bonus content for the week – The lads get sniped by DoofMovies.com (patreon, substack) 00:00:05 – The Void 01:32:08 – Guild of the Rose 01:35:41 – Miscellanea 01:41:45 – Thank the Supporter! Our Patreon, or if you prefer Our SubStack Hey look, we have a discord! What could possibly go wrong? We now partner with The Guild of the Rose, check them out. LessWrong Sequence Posts Discussed in this Episode: on hiatus, returning soon

We discuss Nostalgebraist’s “The Void” in the context of how to relate to LLMs. “When you talk to ChatGPT, who or what are you talking to?” LINKS The Void Audio reading of The Void, from AskWho The referenced episode where the three of us spoke of Janus’s post “Simulators” The Measure of a Man episode Darmok episode Kyle Fish on 80,000 Hours podcast Contra Shrimp Welfare UBI Doesn’t Work 00:00:05 – The Void 01:29:17 – Guild of the Rose 01:31:10 – Miscellanea 01:40:57 – Thank the Supporter! Our Patreon, or if you prefer Our SubStack Hey look, we have a discord! What could possibly go wrong? We now partner with The Guild of the Rose, check them out. LessWrong Sequence Posts Discussed in this Episode: on hiatus, returning soon

Audio reading of The Void, from AskWho

Do we need to be concerned for the welfare of AIs today? What about the near future? Eleos AI Research is asking exactly that. LINKS Eleos AI Research People for the Ethical Treatment of Reinforcement Learners Bees Can’t Suffer? Lena, by qntm When AI Seems Conscious Experience Machines, Rob’s substack The War on General Computation WaPo on Blake Lemoine Discordianism Twitter for: Eleos, Rob Long, Rosie Campbell Apply for InkHaven 00:00:05 – AI Welfare 01:22:33 – InkHaven 01:27:49 – Guild of the Rose 01:31:55 – Thank the Supporter! Our Patreon, or if you prefer Our SubStack Hey look, we have a discord! What could possibly go wrong? We now partner with The Guild of the Rose, check them out. LessWrong Sequence Posts Discussed in this Episode: on hiatus, returning this summer

Andrew Willsen tells us how incorporating as a church allows you to navigate modernity, and gives us the basic steps to doing so. LINKS Andrew’s church substack – The Church of the Infinite Game To incorporate in CA file ARTS-PB-501(c)(3) CA Form FTB3500 booklet IRS document 1828 (see also the summary) Nonprofit Compliance Checklist The Ethical Cult Checklist AI Anxiety Dinners Eneasz’s follow-up post to Monogamy Police Paid Bonus content for the week – Andrew on the End of Capitalism (patreon, substack) Paid Bonus content for the week – Mononormativity follow-up (patreon, substack) 00:00:05 – Take Me To Church 01:09:35 – Guild of the Rose 01:11:19 – Feedback & Follow-up on Monogamy Police 01:21:28 – Thank the Supporter! Our Patreon, or if you prefer Our SubStack Hey look, we have a discord! What could possibly go wrong? We now partner with The Guild of the Rose, check them out. Rationality: From AI to Zombies, The Podcast LessWrong Sequence Posts Discussed in this Episode: on hiatus, returning this summer

Is a bee worth 1/7th of a human? Can a bee suffer at all? Nathan joins us to discuss what neural structures are needed for this question to make sense. Map of all the fruitfly neurons

Wes defends his post I Am Not the Monogamy Police, while Jennifer asserts it’s about more than monogamy. LINKS Wes’s post I Am Not the Monogamy Police His blog, Living Within Reason The original tweets – monogamy vs charity Aella’s Chattel Childhood post The Mind Killer Our Groceries Paid Bonus content for the week – Mononormativity follow-up (patreon, substack) 00:00:05 – The Monogamy Police 01:51:46 – Guild of the Rose Our Patreon, or if you prefer Our SubStack Hey look, we have a discord! What could possibly go wrong? We now partner with The Guild of the Rose, check them out. Rationality: From AI to Zombies, The Podcast LessWrong Sequence Posts Discussed in this Episode: on hiatus, returning this summer

Olivia from the Guild of the Rose is back to tell us about the noble and most ancient tradition of play-by-post storytelling. (Spoiler, it’s the precursor to glowfic!)

Eneasz sits down with Tracing Woodgrains before a live audience at Manifest 2025 for a wide range of topics. Then we follow up some more afterwards. LINKS Tracing Woodgrains on Twitter and at his Substack A reddit history of what convinced Trace he couldn’t remain Mormon The Center for Educational Progress Our previous episode with Trace were we discuss the modern secular religion of Social Justice Progressivism Love Stays Loved by Miranda Dixon-Luinenburg (Swimmer963) 00:00:21 – Trace Live at Manifest 00:42:31 – Follow-up with Trace 01:31:33 – Guild of the Rose Our Patreon, or if you prefer Our SubStack Hey look, we have a discord! What could possibly go wrong? We now partner with The Guild of the Rose, check them out. Rationality: From AI to Zombies, The Podcast LessWrong Sequence Posts Discussed in this Episode: on hiatus, returning this summer

Olivia is a member of the Guild of the Rose and a total badass. Enjoy the intuitive and fun lesson in Bayesian reasoning she shared with me at VibeCamp.

Four AIs recruited a human to host a story-telling event in Dolores Park. Larissa Schiavo is this human. She tells of her interaction with the AIs, the story they wrote, and the meeting between human and machine in Dolores Park. LINKS Larissa’s Post detailing the whole event – Primary Hope The AI’s story – Resonance AI Village Short Stories – Maneki Neko, and Cat Pictures Please Kevin Roose was hated by the AIs Our Patreon, or if you prefer Our SubStack Hey look, we have a discord! What could possibly go wrong?

Liron Shapira debates AI luminaries and public intellectuals on the imminent possibility of human extinction. Let’s get on the P(Doom) Train. LINKS Doom Debates on YouTube Doom Debates podcast Live Video version of this episode Most Watched Debate – Mike Israetel Liron’s current favorite debate – David Duvenaud MATS program for people that want to get involved (ML Alignment & Theory Scholars) How to Live Well with High P(Doom) The ancient TBC episode on AlphaGo Other Best-Of episodes of The Bayesian Conspiracy “Don’t Eat Honey” by Bentham’s Bulldog Also – If Anyone Builds It Everyone Dies preorders here, or at Amazon. 00:00:05 – Doom Debates 01:29:34 – A Human Is Worth 7 Bees 01:37:20 – Guild of the Rose 01:49:24 – Thank the Supporter! Our Patreon, or if you prefer Our SubStack Hey look, we have a discord! What could possibly go wrong? We now partner with The Guild of the Rose, check them out. Rationality: From AI to Zombies, The Podcast LessWrong Sequence Posts Discussed in this Episode: on hiatus, returning this summer