>This struck me as a warmed-over version of the literary conceit that we're all just characters in a particularly elaborate-seeming novel or stage play.

He also came up with the notion of apocalyptic "superintelligences"[0], which is a warmed-over version of 20th-century critiques of the corporation, starting with one written by an economist and a lawyer[1]. People like Cory Doctorow[2], Ted Chiang[3] and Charlie Stross[4] have pointed out the similarities.

>He's terribly clever but also deeply neurotic, like a pessimistic Ray Kurzweil (whose prediction record is rather better than he gets credit for, but similarly dwells a little too much in his own imagination).

He's a transhumanist[5] who co-founded the WTA (now Humanity+)[6] in 1998. I think he's probably realised along the way that doom and gloom sells: he founded FHI in 2005[7] and inspired Musk to fund CSER in 2012[8] with his book[0]. It's pretty much his day job now to be deeply pessimistic.

And it looks like doom-and-gloom think tanks are catching on: France is apparently hiring science fiction writers to dream up future threats[9]. Nice job if you can get it, I guess.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superintelligence:_Paths,_Dang...

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Modern_Corporation_and_Pri...

[2] https://boingboing.net/2015/07/03/why-were-still-talking-abo...

[3] https://boingboing.net/2017/12/18/skynet-llc.html

[4] https://boingboing.net/2017/12/29/llcs-are-slow-ais.html

[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transhumanism#Growth_of_transh...

[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanity%2B

[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_of_Humanity_Institute

[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_for_the_Study_of_Existe...

[9] https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/24/20708432/france-military-...