Episode 7 — The War on Freethinking

​Psychedelic drugs were an inspiration for tech culture. Over the years, we learned Steve Jobs was dropping acid. We heard Timothy Leary riffing on the internet. We had Terrence McKenna tapping the hallucinatory space for visions of our coming transhuman future.​Today, artificial intelligence is a total head trip. Early AI-generated images resemble the dream-like scenes any psychedelic user would be familiar with. As more and more people begin to converse with chatbots in intimate ways—sometimes losing the distinction between digital outputs and their own thoughts—it’s clear that AI psychosis is the new acid casualty.​Join us for a sobering romp through the psychedelic origins of digital technology.Big thank you to the boys at Butterworth’s for hosting me![Once again, the video recorder went kaput. Thank you to Victoria Friedman for grabbing an audio recording!] Get full access to SINGULARITY WEEKLY at www.joebot.xyz/subscribe

Huge thanks to the Florida Citizens Alliance for inviting me! They are doing tremendous work. Keep up with the FLCA’s ongoing efforts to resist tech and protect children from its worst effects HERE Get full access to SINGULARITY WEEKLY at www.joebot.xyz/subscribe

Texas has been good to me over the years. Some visits were rougher than others, but I always came out on top. As a young stagehand, I was slinging steel at Eric Clapton’s 2004 Crossroads Festival in Dallas, held at Cottonbowl Stadium. The first day of 2025 found me climbing all over Cirque du Soleil’s yellow-and-blue tent in Houston, where I was training as a flying custodian.As a rigger, I’d come through the arenas in Dallas and Houston on various tours—with the UFC, Rihanna’s Diamonds Tour, Queen + Adam Lambert, and others. It was always a hoot. Even the a******s.My Texas lecture circuit started with a talk I gave at First Baptist Church in 2022 and went from there. James Poulos would interview me at the Blaze TV studio in 2023. Two days later, I was in-studio with Alex Jones in Austin.I’ve since given talks in two Dallas movie theaters, both hosted by The Ministry of Truth. I did a debate at Minds Fest in Austin, gave a lecture at Georgetown Library out in the suburbs, and then returning to Dallas, I spoke about the cyborg theocracy at First Baptist Church.So this month made my third time back at First Baptist. It was one hell of a journey getting there. I spent hours watching sullen terminal zombies writhe on the Atlanta airport floor—victims of our broken air travel machine, just waiting for the miracle to come. But I eventually made it to Dallas and was met with open arms.As always, the people were warm and hospitable, the barbecue was excellent, and the Holy Spirit was among us. (So was a CNN camera. We’ll see what comes of that.)I hope this lecture cheers you up on a bright Sunday afternoon! It’ll be my last public talk for a while as I hammer out some words and gather energy for early summer. (Well, except for a March 27 panel in DC. I’ll be speaking with the Alliance for Secure AI at AMC Georgetown, following a premiere-night screening of The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist. Doors open at 6:30 pm. C’mon down! — AMC Georgetown, 3111 K Street, NW Washington, DC 20007)Stay loose through the springtime, fam. Lots of love coming your way. Get full access to SINGULARITY WEEKLY at www.joebot.xyz/subscribe

This talk was delivered at the Georgia Institute for Technology on March 6, 2026.Thanks to everyone who came out!And special thanks to Jake Watts and Plan Z USA for hosting! A pleasure to meet you all.Also, big shout out to Jeremy Ornstein for setting the tone. His full talk will be posted soon, so follow @RealHumansFirst Get full access to SINGULARITY WEEKLY at www.joebot.xyz/subscribe

This talk is an outro to my last four years of work and a segue into the next phase. It’s been a great run, but very soon, it’ll be time to shift gears.This First Baptist Church event was great. What a great crowd! But alas, the Machine hath cursed me yet again (or at least, my own technical blunders did).The video is completely out of focus. Damnit! I reckon I should be grateful the audio came out alright.In any event, here is my talk with the slides overlayed—a little PowerPoint hoodoo voodoo schmoodoo—so it’s not a total wash.I’ve never been one to read from notes onstage, so this is pretty much off the top of my head.I hope you enjoy!SIGNED COPIES OF DARK ÆON ARE NOW AVAILABLE Purchase yours at → DarkAeon.xyz ← Get full access to SINGULARITY WEEKLY at www.joebot.xyz/subscribe

Dear Singularity Weekly Readers,Very sorry for the delay and for the truncated podcast. I just got my Substack subscriptions fixed by a human. If it went well, you should all receive this email.For those thousands of you who were not getting the Omega Point Podcast and missed it—please, begin with Episode 0 here and keep going!You can tell it took me a a few shows to get the hang of it. But I’m almost there!Also, I will be traveling next week. So I must prepare.If you are in the Dallas area next week, I’ll be speaking at First Baptist Church downtown:Cyborg Theocracy — The Rise of Digital DeitiesSunday, September 29 — 5:30 pmFirst Baptist Church1707 San Jacinto St.Dallas, TX 75201C’mon down!As for above Omega Point interlude, a friend sent me a new podcast that breaks down my latest article Killswitch Engaged. I urge you to listen to at least a few minutes of their take.My concluding commentary is only matched by the outro track (a personal favorite).To all the newcomers, welcome aboard this rudderless ship! For your convenience, I’ve included my first ten episodes below.(Also, regarding my upcoming nanotech article—look for it on Monday, September 30. Gonna be a banger.)Godspeed and God bless!SIGNED COPIES OF DARK ÆON ARE NOW AVAILABLE Purchase yours at → DarkAeon.xyz ← 10% off with Promo Code: JOEBOT — until now through September Get full access to SINGULARITY WEEKLY at www.joebot.xyz/subscribe

If you believe in every conspiracy, you’re delusional. If you ignore all conspiracies, you’re prey. SIGNED COPIES OF DARK ÆON ARE NOW AVAILABLE Purchase yours at → DarkAeon.xyz ← 10% off with Promo Code: JOEBOT — until now through September Get full access to SINGULARITY WEEKLY at www.joebot.xyz/subscribe

In lieu of my usual intimate podcast, I present to you my rant in New York City about the decline of human dignity and the rise of cyborg theocracy. This talk was delivered off the cuff, but with more love and affection than a puppy dog playing with his new robot chew toy. I hope you enjoy it. Full video here SIGNED COPIES OF DARK ÆON ARE NOW AVAILABLE Purchase yours at → DarkAeon.xyz ← 10% off with Promo Code: JOEBOT — until now through September Get full access to SINGULARITY WEEKLY at www.joebot.xyz/subscribe

The prospect of digital gods is chilling. Personally, I am agnostic toward the idea. Maybe the Super Computer Gods are on their way. Or maybe it’s just a poorly thought out sales pitch, like supernatural vaporware. God only knows. What I do know is that new technoreligions are arising. As with the rise of any new religion, they will have profound impacts on the real world. I caution you not to drink the Kool-Aid. Which is another way of saying, don’t take the iTrode. SIGNED COPIES OF DARK ÆON ARE NOW AVAILABLE Purchase yours at → DarkAeon.xyz ← 10% off with Promo Code: JOEBOT — until now through September Get full access to SINGULARITY WEEKLY at www.joebot.xyz/subscribe

And never trust a witch. Our freedom in this life is limited. Embrace it where you can, when you can. SIGNED COPIES OF DARK ÆON ARE NOW AVAILABLE Purchase yours at → DarkAeon.xyz ← 10% off with Promo Code: JOEBOT — until August 1st Get full access to SINGULARITY WEEKLY at www.joebot.xyz/subscribe