This is a real thing Peter Thiel told a group of tech professionals recently.

In a four-part series of religious lectures in San Francisco, Peter Thiel — yes, that Peter Thiel — has argued that the End Times are nigh and that a biblical Antichrist — yes, that Antichrist — will come to Earth in the form of onerous government regulations placed on science, technology, and AI.

These are, incidentally, areas where the tech billionaire, venture capitalist, and cofounder of Palantir has a vested financial interest. [...]


Note: source uses a two-headline system; the submission uses the shorter of the two

Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20250925211248/https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/785407/peter-thiel-antichrist-tech-regulation

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[–] 249 points 10 months ago (4 children)

strict AI regulation will summon the Antichrist

That is a chance I am willing to take.

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    [–] 161 points 10 months ago (4 children)

    Peter Thiel: "Do not defy the emerging machine intelligences or they will punish humanity by summoning another Greta Thunberg. Meritocracy demands that the computers be our masters, just as I am yours."

    The ruling class talking like this does make the apocalypse look like a reasonable alternative.

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  • [–] 37 points 10 months ago (1 child)

    Do not defy the emerging machine intelligences or they will punish humanity by summoning another Greta Thunberg.

    So... is there an upper limit to this? Or if we keep defying will we keep getting more Gretas? Because I don't see a downside. At all.

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    [–] 102 points 10 months ago (1 child)

    He is f’ing crazy and has the ear of the highest levels of government

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  • [–] 50 points 10 months ago (2 children)

    One of the richest people in the world is nuttier than squirrel shit. What could go wrong?

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  • [–] 12 points 10 months ago*

    Gen. Ripper: Clemenceau said war was too important to be left to the Generals. When he said that, fifty years ago, he might have been right. But today, war is too important to be left to politicians. They have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought. I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion, and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids.

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  • [–] 65 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (4 children)

    Imagine not only believing in the anti-christ, but then also believing that LLMs are some accurate tool.

    In truth all that Thiel is saying is that he's a type of brain rotted Zizian cultist.

    Delusional Rationalists are mentally ill, and for some reason when given LLMs they become worse. Thiel and others believe LLMs are time travelling gods.

    It wouldn't surprise me if he and Elon were in relationships with ChatGPT (or think they are). The Rationalist groups actually believe in thought-experiments like Rokos Basilisk (Roko was just a user on a Rationalist forum by the way)... So I think these old tech billionaires are just lost, broken, and evil. They're pathetic, and should have their estates put into insolvency if they're going to say mentally ill shit.

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    [–] 63 points 10 months ago

    But... Peter, you're already here, we can't summon you while you're here

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  • [–] 43 points 10 months ago

    The Antichrist is coming to take my free money! - Peter Theil (Obvious demon)

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  • [–] 37 points 10 months ago (2 children)

    Ooooh.. OK.

    I was aware of the "what" of the lectures, but was holding out for "why".

    "Don't regulate me"

    Got it.

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    [–] 35 points 10 months ago (1 child)

    ignore him. Thiel lost his marbles from obvious mental illness issues and drug addiction. Going down the same route as John McAfee.

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  • [–] 32 points 10 months ago

    Sounds just like something the Antichrist would say.

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  • [–] 32 points 10 months ago (14 children)

    These people are genuinely, certifiably insane, and they’re in charge.

    People who believe in fairy tales, demons, and other childish nonsense as adults should be referred to mental health services, not be given the keys to the economy and governance.

    How can so many grown adults think this is okay? It’s complete madness. They’re dooming us with their psychopathy and people are nodding along like this is normal. Fucking hell.

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    [–] 28 points 10 months ago (2 children)

    We elected someone for president who literally embodies ALL of the Seven Deadly Sins. I'd say the AntiChrist is already here.

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    [–] 27 points 10 months ago

    The man is scared of Roko's Basilisk and actually thinks that putting all of his money into predictive text and racial profiling algorithms will lead to AGI.

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  • [–] 26 points 10 months ago (2 children)

    Here's the thing. In any sane political system amateurishly attempting to invoke the antichrist just because you don't like something would result in you getting completely ignored by everyone else. Only this is the US, so for some reason he gets platformed.

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    [–] 25 points 10 months ago (2 children)

    Does anyone need more evidence that religion is a mental illness?

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    [–] 24 points 10 months ago

    Peter Thiel who hung out with notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and convicted child sex twice Ghislaine Maxwell? That Peter Thiel?

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  • [–] 21 points 10 months ago (2 children)

    Ahh yes, the gay billionaire is definitely someone I should trust in regard to Christian religious doctrine, especially concerning what is and is not considered good in the Christian viewpoint. Dudes already got at probably two strikes, and I'm betting he's checked off a few of the more minor of the 10 commandments, but like... on a major scale.

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  • [–] 17 points 10 months ago (6 children)

    He's saying it because he is trying to force a reaction from his evangelical republican pals. Either he wants to warn them off AI regulation because that would end the world or (the more likely option I think) he wants the accelerationist bastards to go full steam ahead and regulate because they want the end of the world and he wants to "pull up the ladder" on new emerging competing AI companies.

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    [–] 20 points 10 months ago (7 children)

    So as someone who grew up very much immersed in "end times" focused Christianity I have never really understood something- why do so many end times Christians view end times prophecies like the Antichrist or the Mark of the Beast as things to be prevented or avoided? Even growing up I didn't understand this because in the Bible it's very clear that all that stuff will happen (or is happening, depending on whether you believe Revelation was meant to be a metaphor for current events at the time of writing) because God is explicitly allowing it to, and that these things are necessary for Christ's ultimate victory over Death and Evil. So why would you try to prevent the rise of the Antichrist? In the "best case" you're just kicking the can down the road and delaying the Return of Jesus a little. In New Testament apocalyptic writing, believers are described as resisting the Antichrist's persecution, but not in having anything to do with its arrival one way or another. If humans are able to prevent, delay, or hinder the rise of the Antichrist, then God is not in charge and the whole point of these prophecies is kind of invalidated. The whole point of apocalyptic literature is that these bad things are happening and it seems like evil is winning over good, but in reality God is still all powerful and is still in control of all of it, and wins in the end.

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    [–] 20 points 10 months ago
    [–] 19 points 10 months ago (1 child)

    I’m used to “religious” wackos being wackos, but HUH?

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    [–] 19 points 10 months ago (1 child)

    Another reason why billionaires shouldn't exist.

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    [–] 19 points 10 months ago (1 child)

    The only difference between thiel and a homeless man living in a cardboard box is 26.1 billion dollars.

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    [+] 18 points 10 months ago
    [–] 17 points 10 months ago

    But would there also be any negative effects?

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  • [–] 16 points 10 months ago

    Fuck it, the Antichrist is already here.

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  • [–] 16 points 10 months ago

    Well, shit. Bring on the antichrist, I guess.

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  • [–] 16 points 10 months ago (3 children)

    There's an antichrist (bible says there will be many antichrists before the big boss) in the white house right now, do something about that one. You helped put him there.

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    [–] 16 points 10 months ago

    What always strikes me most about the whole mess of modern day US politics is the sheer madness of it all.

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  • [–] 15 points 10 months ago

    This truly confuses me and here’s why.

    The reason that the evangelicals support Israel is because they are trying to bring on the end times. In the book of revelations, it Refers to events that happen at the temple in Jerusalem. They are supporting Netanyahu in his efforts to unify contiguous Israel, so that they can rebuild the temple and bring on the end times.

    Summoning the antichrist seems like more of a feature than a bug to these people.

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  • [–] 15 points 10 months ago

    Oh so The Antichrist is regulation. Now it all makes sense. In a world where tech regulation is so obviously needed, he's got to employ mythical themes of good vs evil to get people to believe the opposite.

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  • [–] 14 points 10 months ago (1 child)

    This reminds me of the wealthy family in Gravity Falls. The daughter is a jerk to the main girl, Mabel, for petty reasons and the parents are exclusive jerks who think they are above everyone. End of series, the parents make “bad investments” by trying to profit off the apocalypse the main casts fixes, leaving them destitute.

    I hope this outcome happens outside of fiction. Not out of spite, but because I want people who have much to learn some humility and help their fellow man.

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    [–] 14 points 10 months ago

    He doesn't seem stoked at the chance to meet his boss. Can you blame the guy?

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  • [–] 13 points 10 months ago

    Pedo Thiel says what?

    We know you've been on the Epstein island dude.

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  • [–] 12 points 10 months ago

    AI has it all wrong, it’s thiel that is the anti-christ.

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  • [–] 12 points 10 months ago

    Add another entry to the Why There Should Be No Billionaires file.

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  • [–] 11 points 10 months ago* (1 child)

    He's worried about the Basilisk thingie.

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