The paperclip maximizer, as Nick Bostrom described it, is a thought experiment about blind optimization. It takes one goal, no matter how trivial, and relentlessly subordinates the world to it. The paperclip maximizer is not wicked for wickedness requires imagination. It has the focused simplicity of having only one end, and converts everything else into…
Month: June 2026
Successful Companies are the Worst
I worked for a company that was failing once. One day I came in and the doors were locked. That was the end of it. The market had changed. No one had decided to hurt me in particular. It was simply over, and when it happened I felt almost nothing. Later I worked for a…
Nithya Raman Is a Patsy
Look, I’m gonna be straight with you. Years from now, when they ask me about the greatest score I ever pulled, I’m gonna tell ‘em about the Raman job in Los Angeles. We didn’t break into anything. That’s what makes it so beautiful. The politicians had already done all the heavy lifting for us. They…