Speaking at the Aspen Ideas Festival, the billionaire tech investor said the Vatican’s concerns could discourage America in the AI arms race, warned of a democratic-socialist takeover and explained why he named Palantir after JRR Tolkien’s treacherous seeing stones.
Excellent write-up. I learned a lot! Always something new to learn about Middle Earth. :)
I recently watched a video essay that tried to explain why all these billionaires basically do the “invent the Torment Nexus from the famous novel Do Not Invent the Torment Nexus” thing…
Essentially, in their minds they’re the hero. They have money and power and think they’ll do it differently. Skynet without Judgement Day, Blade Runner’s neon and flying cars without the social erosion, and so on…
It’s so weird how Thiel is such a “fan” of Tolkien’s works and yet his first move here was to double down on Boromir’s initial folly:
Boromir: “Why not use this Ring? Long has my father, the Steward of Gondor, kept the forces of Mordor at bay. By the blood of our people are your lands kept safe! Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy. Let us use it against him!”
Aragorn: “You cannot wield it! None of us can. The One Ring answers to Sauron alone. It has no other master.”
Imagine the hubris, thinking a global surveillance network with the power to designate its own targets would never be used by “the wrong hands.” Pathetic.
Excellent write-up. I learned a lot! Always something new to learn about Middle Earth. :)
I recently watched a video essay that tried to explain why all these billionaires basically do the “invent the Torment Nexus from the famous novel Do Not Invent the Torment Nexus” thing…
Essentially, in their minds they’re the hero. They have money and power and think they’ll do it differently. Skynet without Judgement Day, Blade Runner’s neon and flying cars without the social erosion, and so on…
It’s so weird how Thiel is such a “fan” of Tolkien’s works and yet his first move here was to double down on Boromir’s initial folly:
Imagine the hubris, thinking a global surveillance network with the power to designate its own targets would never be used by “the wrong hands.” Pathetic.
I’m 100% sure that guys like Thiel and Musk have only, at most, watched the LotR movies but certainly have never read the books.