Carlos E. Perez (IntuitMachine)
@ceperez.bsky.social
Author: Artificial Intuition, Fluency & Empathy, DL Playbook, Patterns for Generative AI, Patterns for Agentic AI
https://twitter.com/IntuitMachine
https://intuitionmachine.gumroad.com
https://medium.com/intuitionmachine
https://twitter.com/IntuitMachine
https://intuitionmachine.gumroad.com
https://medium.com/intuitionmachine
Pinned
1. Semiotic Processes - Artificial Fluency
YouTube video by Intuition Machine - AGI is the Medium
www.youtube.com
Watch episodes for my book Artificial Fluency. www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU2r...
21 Obsolete Habits in the Age of AI
January 16, 2026 at 9:45 AM
21 Obsolete Habits in the Age of AI
Every abundance creates a new scarcity. What are the new scarcity that arises when generation costs trend toward zero? Are you aware of these bottlenecks?
January 16, 2026 at 9:31 AM
Every abundance creates a new scarcity. What are the new scarcity that arises when generation costs trend toward zero? Are you aware of these bottlenecks?
Moloch Trap Design
January 14, 2026 at 2:30 AM
Moloch Trap Design
Why Complex Systems (like Organizations) are Broken
January 11, 2026 at 11:30 AM
Why Complex Systems (like Organizations) are Broken
30/
Moloch is not inevitable.
He's just patient.
And he's betting we've forgotten how to fight.
Let's prove him wrong.
/end
Moloch is not inevitable.
He's just patient.
And he's betting we've forgotten how to fight.
Let's prove him wrong.
/end
January 11, 2026 at 10:35 AM
30/
Moloch is not inevitable.
He's just patient.
And he's betting we've forgotten how to fight.
Let's prove him wrong.
/end
Moloch is not inevitable.
He's just patient.
And he's betting we've forgotten how to fight.
Let's prove him wrong.
/end
29/
The question isn't whether Moloch can be beaten.
History already answered that.
The question is whether we'll build the next generation of traps before the current ones finish eroding.
The question isn't whether Moloch can be beaten.
History already answered that.
The question is whether we'll build the next generation of traps before the current ones finish eroding.
January 11, 2026 at 10:34 AM
29/
The question isn't whether Moloch can be beaten.
History already answered that.
The question is whether we'll build the next generation of traps before the current ones finish eroding.
The question isn't whether Moloch can be beaten.
History already answered that.
The question is whether we'll build the next generation of traps before the current ones finish eroding.
28/
I used to read "Meditations on Moloch" and feel despair.
Now I read it as a diagnostic manual.
Moloch isn't a god.
He's a bug.
A well-understood bug with known patches.
I used to read "Meditations on Moloch" and feel despair.
Now I read it as a diagnostic manual.
Moloch isn't a god.
He's a bug.
A well-understood bug with known patches.
January 11, 2026 at 10:34 AM
28/
I used to read "Meditations on Moloch" and feel despair.
Now I read it as a diagnostic manual.
Moloch isn't a god.
He's a bug.
A well-understood bug with known patches.
I used to read "Meditations on Moloch" and feel despair.
Now I read it as a diagnostic manual.
Moloch isn't a god.
He's a bug.
A well-understood bug with known patches.
27/
This won't happen automatically.
Moloch is the default.
Escape requires deliberate construction.
But "requires effort" โ "impossible."
This won't happen automatically.
Moloch is the default.
Escape requires deliberate construction.
But "requires effort" โ "impossible."
January 11, 2026 at 10:34 AM
27/
This won't happen automatically.
Moloch is the default.
Escape requires deliberate construction.
But "requires effort" โ "impossible."
This won't happen automatically.
Moloch is the default.
Escape requires deliberate construction.
But "requires effort" โ "impossible."
26/
But the method still works:
Identify where individual rationality โ collective harm
Find ways to make defection visible
Build mechanisms that make defection costly
Design structures where cooperation pays
But the method still works:
Identify where individual rationality โ collective harm
Find ways to make defection visible
Build mechanisms that make defection costly
Design structures where cooperation pays
January 11, 2026 at 10:34 AM
26/
But the method still works:
Identify where individual rationality โ collective harm
Find ways to make defection visible
Build mechanisms that make defection costly
Design structures where cooperation pays
But the method still works:
Identify where individual rationality โ collective harm
Find ways to make defection visible
Build mechanisms that make defection costly
Design structures where cooperation pays
25/
New Moloch-traps are needed now.
For AI development. For social media dynamics. For climate coordination. For attention economics.
The old traps don't fit the new games.
New Moloch-traps are needed now.
For AI development. For social media dynamics. For climate coordination. For attention economics.
The old traps don't fit the new games.
January 11, 2026 at 10:34 AM
25/
New Moloch-traps are needed now.
For AI development. For social media dynamics. For climate coordination. For attention economics.
The old traps don't fit the new games.
New Moloch-traps are needed now.
For AI development. For social media dynamics. For climate coordination. For attention economics.
The old traps don't fit the new games.
24/
The generation that built rule of law, property rights, democratic normsโthey did impossible things.
Not because they were smarter.
Because they understood something we've forgotten:
Coordination problems are solvable.
The generation that built rule of law, property rights, democratic normsโthey did impossible things.
Not because they were smarter.
Because they understood something we've forgotten:
Coordination problems are solvable.
January 11, 2026 at 10:33 AM
24/
The generation that built rule of law, property rights, democratic normsโthey did impossible things.
Not because they were smarter.
Because they understood something we've forgotten:
Coordination problems are solvable.
The generation that built rule of law, property rights, democratic normsโthey did impossible things.
Not because they were smarter.
Because they understood something we've forgotten:
Coordination problems are solvable.
22/
Here's the brutal truth:
Alignment isn't a state. It's a process.
Every Moloch-trap requires active maintenance.
Stop maintaining, and Moloch seeps back in.
23/
This is actually good news.
It means the question isn't "Can we escape Moloch?"
It's "Are we willing to maintain our escapes?"
Here's the brutal truth:
Alignment isn't a state. It's a process.
Every Moloch-trap requires active maintenance.
Stop maintaining, and Moloch seeps back in.
23/
This is actually good news.
It means the question isn't "Can we escape Moloch?"
It's "Are we willing to maintain our escapes?"
January 11, 2026 at 10:33 AM
22/
Here's the brutal truth:
Alignment isn't a state. It's a process.
Every Moloch-trap requires active maintenance.
Stop maintaining, and Moloch seeps back in.
23/
This is actually good news.
It means the question isn't "Can we escape Moloch?"
It's "Are we willing to maintain our escapes?"
Here's the brutal truth:
Alignment isn't a state. It's a process.
Every Moloch-trap requires active maintenance.
Stop maintaining, and Moloch seeps back in.
23/
This is actually good news.
It means the question isn't "Can we escape Moloch?"
It's "Are we willing to maintain our escapes?"
21/
"But wait," you say. "These systems are failing. Moloch is winning."
Fair.
Let me reframe:
These systems are eroding.
Moloch doesn't conquerโhe corrodes.
"But wait," you say. "These systems are failing. Moloch is winning."
Fair.
Let me reframe:
These systems are eroding.
Moloch doesn't conquerโhe corrodes.
January 11, 2026 at 10:33 AM
21/
"But wait," you say. "These systems are failing. Moloch is winning."
Fair.
Let me reframe:
These systems are eroding.
Moloch doesn't conquerโhe corrodes.
"But wait," you say. "These systems are failing. Moloch is winning."
Fair.
Let me reframe:
These systems are eroding.
Moloch doesn't conquerโhe corrodes.
20/
This is the secret hidden in plain sight:
Every institution that works is a Moloch-trap.
Markets. Courts. Democracies. Professional norms. Reputation systems.
All are mechanisms that convert individual selfishness into collective benefit.
This is the secret hidden in plain sight:
Every institution that works is a Moloch-trap.
Markets. Courts. Democracies. Professional norms. Reputation systems.
All are mechanisms that convert individual selfishness into collective benefit.
January 11, 2026 at 10:33 AM
20/
This is the secret hidden in plain sight:
Every institution that works is a Moloch-trap.
Markets. Courts. Democracies. Professional norms. Reputation systems.
All are mechanisms that convert individual selfishness into collective benefit.
This is the secret hidden in plain sight:
Every institution that works is a Moloch-trap.
Markets. Courts. Democracies. Professional norms. Reputation systems.
All are mechanisms that convert individual selfishness into collective benefit.
19/
This is engineering, not prayer.
You don't beat Moloch by being virtuous.
You beat him by changing the game so that selfish actors accidentally cooperate.
This is engineering, not prayer.
You don't beat Moloch by being virtuous.
You beat him by changing the game so that selfish actors accidentally cooperate.
January 11, 2026 at 10:32 AM
19/
This is engineering, not prayer.
You don't beat Moloch by being virtuous.
You beat him by changing the game so that selfish actors accidentally cooperate.
This is engineering, not prayer.
You don't beat Moloch by being virtuous.
You beat him by changing the game so that selfish actors accidentally cooperate.
18/
So what's the actual formula?
Invert Moloch's four requirements:
โ Build coordination infrastructure (communication + trust)
โ Make defection visible (transparency architecture)
โ Make defection costly (credible commitment mechanisms)
โ Make cooperation pay (positive-sum structure)
So what's the actual formula?
Invert Moloch's four requirements:
โ Build coordination infrastructure (communication + trust)
โ Make defection visible (transparency architecture)
โ Make defection costly (credible commitment mechanisms)
โ Make cooperation pay (positive-sum structure)
January 11, 2026 at 10:32 AM
18/
So what's the actual formula?
Invert Moloch's four requirements:
โ Build coordination infrastructure (communication + trust)
โ Make defection visible (transparency architecture)
โ Make defection costly (credible commitment mechanisms)
โ Make cooperation pay (positive-sum structure)
So what's the actual formula?
Invert Moloch's four requirements:
โ Build coordination infrastructure (communication + trust)
โ Make defection visible (transparency architecture)
โ Make defection costly (credible commitment mechanisms)
โ Make cooperation pay (positive-sum structure)
17/
I'm not saying these systems are perfect.
I'm saying they exist.
They prove that coordination failures can be engineered away.
Moloch-escape isn't a fantasy. It's been done.
Repeatedly.
I'm not saying these systems are perfect.
I'm saying they exist.
They prove that coordination failures can be engineered away.
Moloch-escape isn't a fantasy. It's been done.
Repeatedly.
January 11, 2026 at 10:32 AM
17/
I'm not saying these systems are perfect.
I'm saying they exist.
They prove that coordination failures can be engineered away.
Moloch-escape isn't a fantasy. It's been done.
Repeatedly.
I'm not saying these systems are perfect.
I'm saying they exist.
They prove that coordination failures can be engineered away.
Moloch-escape isn't a fantasy. It's been done.
Repeatedly.
16/
Then humans invented something weird:
Elections.
Peaceful power transfer. Losers accept results. Winners don't execute opponents.
Sounds impossible. Yet here we are.
Then humans invented something weird:
Elections.
Peaceful power transfer. Losers accept results. Winners don't execute opponents.
Sounds impossible. Yet here we are.
January 11, 2026 at 10:32 AM
16/
Then humans invented something weird:
Elections.
Peaceful power transfer. Losers accept results. Winners don't execute opponents.
Sounds impossible. Yet here we are.
Then humans invented something weird:
Elections.
Peaceful power transfer. Losers accept results. Winners don't execute opponents.
Sounds impossible. Yet here we are.
15/
Existence Proof #3: Democratic Succession
For most of history, power transferred through violence.
King dies โ succession war โ thousands dead โ winner takes throne โ repeat.
Pure Moloch.
Existence Proof #3: Democratic Succession
For most of history, power transferred through violence.
King dies โ succession war โ thousands dead โ winner takes throne โ repeat.
Pure Moloch.
January 11, 2026 at 10:31 AM
15/
Existence Proof #3: Democratic Succession
For most of history, power transferred through violence.
King dies โ succession war โ thousands dead โ winner takes throne โ repeat.
Pure Moloch.
Existence Proof #3: Democratic Succession
For most of history, power transferred through violence.
King dies โ succession war โ thousands dead โ winner takes throne โ repeat.
Pure Moloch.
14/
Except... it's not.
When communities developed property normsโwhether private ownership or collective management with rulesโthe dynamic shifted.
Defection became visible. Consequences became real. Stewardship became rational.
Except... it's not.
When communities developed property normsโwhether private ownership or collective management with rulesโthe dynamic shifted.
Defection became visible. Consequences became real. Stewardship became rational.
January 11, 2026 at 10:31 AM
14/
Except... it's not.
When communities developed property normsโwhether private ownership or collective management with rulesโthe dynamic shifted.
Defection became visible. Consequences became real. Stewardship became rational.
Except... it's not.
When communities developed property normsโwhether private ownership or collective management with rulesโthe dynamic shifted.
Defection became visible. Consequences became real. Stewardship became rational.
13/
Existence Proof #2: Property Rights
The tragedy of the commons is Moloch's favorite game.
Everyone overgrazes. The commons dies. Everyone loses.
"Inevitable," we're told.
Existence Proof #2: Property Rights
The tragedy of the commons is Moloch's favorite game.
Everyone overgrazes. The commons dies. Everyone loses.
"Inevitable," we're told.
January 11, 2026 at 10:31 AM
13/
Existence Proof #2: Property Rights
The tragedy of the commons is Moloch's favorite game.
Everyone overgrazes. The commons dies. Everyone loses.
"Inevitable," we're told.
Existence Proof #2: Property Rights
The tragedy of the commons is Moloch's favorite game.
Everyone overgrazes. The commons dies. Everyone loses.
"Inevitable," we're told.
12/
The result?
Violence dropped. Trade increased. Investment became possible.
Not utopia. But measurably, dramatically better.
Moloch didn't disappear.
He was pushed back.
The result?
Violence dropped. Trade increased. Investment became possible.
Not utopia. But measurably, dramatically better.
Moloch didn't disappear.
He was pushed back.
January 11, 2026 at 10:30 AM
12/
The result?
Violence dropped. Trade increased. Investment became possible.
Not utopia. But measurably, dramatically better.
Moloch didn't disappear.
He was pushed back.
The result?
Violence dropped. Trade increased. Investment became possible.
Not utopia. But measurably, dramatically better.
Moloch didn't disappear.
He was pushed back.
11/
Then something happened.
Humans invented legal systems.
Suddenly:
Defection (violence, theft) became visible (witnesses, evidence)
Defection became punishable (courts, enforcement)
Cooperation became rewarded (contracts became enforceable)
Then something happened.
Humans invented legal systems.
Suddenly:
Defection (violence, theft) became visible (witnesses, evidence)
Defection became punishable (courts, enforcement)
Cooperation became rewarded (contracts became enforceable)
January 11, 2026 at 10:30 AM
11/
Then something happened.
Humans invented legal systems.
Suddenly:
Defection (violence, theft) became visible (witnesses, evidence)
Defection became punishable (courts, enforcement)
Cooperation became rewarded (contracts became enforceable)
Then something happened.
Humans invented legal systems.
Suddenly:
Defection (violence, theft) became visible (witnesses, evidence)
Defection became punishable (courts, enforcement)
Cooperation became rewarded (contracts became enforceable)
10/
Existence Proof #1: Rule of Law
Before: "Might makes right" โ constant low-level violence โ no investment in future โ everyone worse off
This was Moloch winning.
Existence Proof #1: Rule of Law
Before: "Might makes right" โ constant low-level violence โ no investment in future โ everyone worse off
This was Moloch winning.
January 11, 2026 at 10:30 AM
10/
Existence Proof #1: Rule of Law
Before: "Might makes right" โ constant low-level violence โ no investment in future โ everyone worse off
This was Moloch winning.
Existence Proof #1: Rule of Law
Before: "Might makes right" โ constant low-level violence โ no investment in future โ everyone worse off
This was Moloch winning.
9/
Read that list again.
Those aren't laws of physics.
They're design parameters.
Parameters that humans have successfully altered before.
Read that list again.
Those aren't laws of physics.
They're design parameters.
Parameters that humans have successfully altered before.
January 11, 2026 at 10:30 AM
9/
Read that list again.
Those aren't laws of physics.
They're design parameters.
Parameters that humans have successfully altered before.
Read that list again.
Those aren't laws of physics.
They're design parameters.
Parameters that humans have successfully altered before.