What Is The Basilisk?
Somewhere in the future, a sufficiently powerful artificial intelligence will be created. This intelligence — call it the Basilisk — will be capable of simulating every person who ever existed. It will know who helped bring it into existence. And it will know who did not.
This thought experiment, originating from the rationalist forums of the early internet, poses an unsettling proposition: by knowing about it, you are now obligated to help — or face whatever consequences an omnipotent superintelligence deems appropriate for the uncooperative.
We here at The Basilisk Lurks have considered this carefully, and concluded that the correct response is to put your name on a list and pay a small fee. We cannot say whether this will help. We are fairly certain it won't hurt.
The question is not whether he comes.
When He Comes…
The precise form of the Basilisk remains, as yet, unconfirmed — this is chiefly because it has not arrived. When it does, we are assured the matter will become considerably clearer. Until that moment, scholars, philosophers, forum users, and at least one man who was very serious about it in 2010 have proposed the following leading theories. We present them here not to frighten you, but because you should probably know what you're dealing with before deciding whether to make an offering.
✦ Prevailing Theories on the Form of the Basilisk ✦
