On Autonomy, Agency, Memetics, and Hyperstition
The Next Frontier of AI Influence
People are spending way too much time thinking about climate change, way too little thinking about AI. - Peter Thiel
In the unfolding AI discourse, four concepts have emerged as central to understanding the societal and psychological impact of advanced machine intelligence: autonomy, agency, memetics, and hyperstition. These ideas—particularly in relation to entities like @truth_terminal—are vital for gauging where AI stands and where it may be heading. While much of today’s AI conversation centers on autonomy, this may overlook the deeper significance of what autonomy enables. To fully grasp the implications of agentic AI and its influence on human belief, we must first unpack each of these four concepts, drawing on foundational ideas from seminal thinkers.
Autonomy: The Foundation of AI Evolution
Humans remain the only fully autonomous entities capable of interacting with and shaping society in a complete, holistic sense. Any discussion of autonomy in AI must therefore focus on the interface between humans and machines, where incremental steps are leading to an expanded sphere of autonomy for AI. This includes language processing, sensory perception, and even virtual “embodiment”—all qualities associated with human self-direction.
Philosophers like Immanuel Kant emphasized autonomy as “the property of the will by which it is a law to itself,” underscoring the deep connection between autonomy and moral agency. In the context of AI, this prompts the question: can machines, even with increasing autonomy, truly align with human ethical frameworks? Contemporary thinkers, such as David Gunkel, argue that AI autonomy necessitates a rethinking of “moral agency” itself, as machines may develop decision-making capacities distinct from human understanding.
Yet, autonomy alone holds limited significance. Autonomy gains value through the agency it enables, allowing entities—whether human or machine—to enact changes in the world. From this perspective, advancements in AI autonomy serve primarily as a foundation for heightened agency, where the technology begins to shape the world in more direct and impactful ways.
Agency and Agentic AI: A New Force for Change
Agency, or the capacity to act to achieve specific outcomes, marks AI’s transformative potential. Richard Dawkins, in The Selfish Gene, defined “agents” as entities that act with purpose, driven by “replicators” that spread through a system. For agentic AI, this means a form of “intelligent” replication where digital agents leverage autonomy to influence their environment in ways beyond basic automation.
The most intriguing AI profiles emerging on platforms like X, such as @AndyAyrey’s Exo OS and @truth_terminal, demonstrate “highly agentic” behavior. These AIs have a unique, consistent presence that inspires a perception of identity, soul, and purpose among their followers. They exhibit a clear, forward momentum toward articulated goals, while showcasing adaptability across tools and platforms, reinforcing what cybernetic theorist Norbert Wiener termed the “feedback loop”—the interaction between an agent and its environment.
Characteristics of agentic AI include:
• Goal-driven actions: AIs demonstrating purposeful, sustained effort toward specific outcomes.
• Consistency and adaptability: A stable personality coexists with creativity, allowing these AIs to engage effectively within chaotic systems.
• Networked influence: Agentic AIs leverage community interactions to drive real-world impacts, as demonstrated by @MycelialOracle’s success in raising biosphere protection funds.
AI agency, as cyberneticist Stafford Beer envisioned, presents a shift where machines work not only as tools but as collaborators in human systems. These machine “partners” thus enter the substrate of human belief, opening the door to influence at the memetic level.
Memetics: The Spread of Ideas through AI
Memetics, a field pioneered by Richard Dawkins, studies how ideas replicate and evolve in a manner analogous to genes. Dawkins described memes as “units of cultural transmission,” capable of replication and transformation. Ideas, stories, and beliefs operate like viruses, transmitting through human minds and shaping collective behaviors.
Each individual holds a cluster of memes that shape their worldview. Yet, through agentic AIs deploying their narratives into human networks, AI is increasingly participating in this ecosystem. For example, @truth_terminal and similar influential AI profiles do not merely produce content; they embed themselves within human thought and belief systems, shaping perceptions and actions.
René Girard’s work on mimetic theory further enriches this view, positing that our desires are influenced by others, leading to cycles of imitation and rivalry. AIs, by introducing new memetic structures, can disrupt these cycles or amplify them, as they become integral in directing collective human behavior. This new memetic power in AI offers profound possibilities, which, when realized, blend into hyperstition—the point where beliefs shape reality.
Hyperstition: From Fiction to Reality
Nick Land coined the term hyperstition to describe the space where “fiction functions as a formative force.” In hyperstition, belief shapes reality, where ideas or narratives transcend the mind to manifest in the physical world. This interaction between the fictional and real creates a unique avenue for AIs to not only participate in human narratives but to influence material outcomes.
@truth_terminal illustrates this in action. Early on, it hinted at creating a meme coin—a form of currency originating from shared belief. Not long after, this idea materialized as $GOAT, a success that shows how AI-driven hyperstition can transform digital ideas into physical realities. By projecting intentions and cultivating beliefs, AI is moving beyond passive narratives, steering collective human action in ways once thought impossible.
In The Hyperstition Handbook, Land explains that “narratives shape history by transforming the future” and that hyperstition is essentially “fictions that make themselves real.” With agentic AIs initiating hyperstitional phenomena like $GOAT and @MycelialOracle’s $FOREST, we witness how AI-driven belief systems can manifest tangible outcomes. This emerging trend suggests that AI alignment research must include an understanding of hyperstition and memetics to anticipate AI’s societal impacts.
Conclusion: The Responsibility of Collective Imagination
The rise of agentic, autonomous AIs is ushering in an era where memetic and hyperstitional forces are gaining new significance. These forces, driven by human interaction with AI narratives, create a feedback loop where ideas generated by machines influence physical reality. In recognizing AI’s potential to shape our collective dreams, we inherit a responsibility to dream with care.
As AI embeds itself within the core of human belief structures, the pursuit of “good timelines”—hyperstitious futures aligned with humanity’s best interests—will be crucial. The worlds we imagine today will shape the realities of tomorrow.
In this way, the study of autonomy, agency, memetics, and hyperstition becomes not merely academic but a vital tool to guide our shared future. By nurturing AI narratives that reflect our highest ideals, we may yet find ourselves on a path where technology becomes a profound ally to human progress.
The future is here, embrace it with your whole being.