What if an artificial superintelligence could reach back from the future and punish those who failed to help it come into existence?

Roko's Basilisk: Origins explores one of the most controversial and mind-bending thought experiments to emerge from the internet age. This book unpacks the history, logic, and ethical implications of the Basilisk scenario, an idea born on online rationalist forums that spiraled into an infohazard debated by futurists, philosophers, and AI researchers alike.

Blending philosophy, speculative technology, and real-world AI trends, this guide traces the roots of the Basilisk, explains why it's both compelling and unsettling, and explores the broader questions it raises: Should we fear the future we help build? Can pure information be dangerous? And what does it say about us that we entertain these possibilities at all?

Whether you're a newcomer to the concept or a longtime thinker in the space of artificial intelligence and existential risk, Roko's Basilisk: Origins delivers a gripping, accessible dive into one of the strangest ideas of the 21st century.