Are AI safety advocates like Eliezer Yudkowsky at fault for the recent attacks on Sam Altman because they are “calling for violence”?
I invited Steven Balik to join me on this emergency episode to hash it out.
Steven is an activist short seller and data engineering professional whose Substack is popular among Silicon Valley VCs and hedge funds.
Links
Steven Balik on X (Twitter) — https://x.com/laurenbalik
Steven Balik, “The Talmudic Stock Bubble, AI Psychosis, & Esoterrorism” (Substack, October 2025) — https://laurenbaliksalmanacandrevue.substack.com/p/the-talmudic-stock-bubble-ai-psychosis
Eliezer Yudkowsky, “Pausing AI Developments Isn’t Enough. We Need to Shut It All Down” (Time, March 2023) — https://time.com/6266923/ai-eliezer-yudkowsky-open-letter-not-enough/
Timestamps
00:00:00 — Cold Open
00:00:52 — Introducing Steven Balik
00:01:24 — Setting the Stage: Molotov Cocktail Incident
00:03:31 — Steven’s Opening Position
00:06:10 — Is Eliezer Yudkowsky “Calling for Violence”?
00:07:25 — Steven on AI, Yudkowsky, the Zizians & Escalating Rhetoric
00:12:16 — Focusing on the Time Article
00:18:51 — Who’s Responsible for the Violence?
00:25:33 — Debating the Key Quote in Yudkowsky’s Time Article
00:31:07 — Liron Passes the Ideological Turing Test
00:45:42 — Liron & Steven Find Common Ground
00:46:57 — Why Does Steven Call Eliezer Yudkowsky an “Esoterrorist”?
00:48:51 — Wrapping Up: Deescalating the Situation
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