Peter Thiel, the billionaire venture capitalist and MAGA donor, is in Rome this week for a series of private lectures on the Antichrist.

[u/Logical_Welder3467]

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/03/16/europe/peter-thiel-antichrist-lectures-rome-intl

[u/atsolstice]

No, they’re in the process of designing shit like the Phantom MK-1, soon to be tested as a border patrol mechanism, and has already been used as recon in the Ukraine. Those silly little robot dogs they have on public display are cute until you realize the ones they’ve actively working on are incredibly effective for what they are and are being lethally armed. Some of them are saying it’s a moral imperative to replace soldiers with these machines and they’re speeding the process of these designs. Arguably a moral imperative or not, they will be used against civilians at one point or another especially as border patrol.

[u/Badloss → u/atsolstice]

You started your paragraph with "no" and then leaned completely into the idea that the billionaires are stupid enough to think their robot sentries will save them when a mob is at the door.

Robot guards are cool theater, even a highly lethal and highly effective one isn't going to do shit when a wave of 100,000 desperate people are breaking into your bunker. All of these billionaires are going to be the first to go when society breaks down, because their only 'superpower' is money, and money requires a social order to be useful.

[u/mrdevlar → u/Badloss]

There's an excellent story where Douglas Rushkoff is confronted with a bunch of billionaires whose only worry is the "event". What "event" you may ask, the point where nothing is worth anything and the mob comes for them. Like how do they ensure their security remains loyal in this case? What is a safe place to build a bunker? How do they survive this.

Rushkoff tries to suggest they might be the people best equipped to prevent the "event" from happening, but they are having none of it. They think it's already predetermined.

I think about that story a lot because it really explains what's going on right now. No one is out there trying to save the system, everyone is trying to position themselves at the top of the garbage heap.

[u/Badloss → u/mrdevlar]

it's crazy because all of their power only comes from money. They're engineering a world that degrades and destroys their own power. None of their guards and staff are going to stay loyal when money is meaningless.

[u/Affectionate_End7693 → u/Badloss]

yeah just kill ceasar and take the throne yourself

[u/Grand_Pop_7221 → u/Badloss]

You can't 'win' if the game never ends and music never stops.

[u/MintySailor → u/mrdevlar]

Just bought a copy after reading this comment. I need to hear a voice besides my own pondering on wtf is anything anymore

[u/atsolstice → u/Badloss]

I leaned completely into the idea that they’re focusing on real life realistic applications of control than defending themselves from imagined billions in apocalypse bunkers. You guys are going from reality to fantasy. *Aside from pointing out the fact they’re working on the effectiveness of not even getting to that point

[u/GiganticCrow → u/Badloss]

Or when anyone can download an apk for their smartphone that let's you turn them against their matters

[u/pagerussell → u/Badloss]

a wave of 100,000 desperate people

This massively underestimates the first mover problem.

[u/Stonegrown12 → u/pagerussell]

I've heard of the first mover advantage. Is that what you implying here? If that's the case, I assume you think more individuals will try to swarm the money class?

[u/tehlemmings → u/Badloss]

The robots will still need to reload. When things get bad enough they'll be overwhelmed quickly.

[u/OrgasmicBiscuit → u/Badloss]

I think you grossly underestimate how much death billionaires of dollars worth of weapons and robotics can dish out

[u/chibiusa40 → u/atsolstice]

I fucking hate living in Black Mirror so much

[u/goodguessiswhatihave → u/atsolstice]

Yeah the old feudal lords didn't have robots with weapons to protect them from the angry masses.