From AI religion to Meme coin: Truth Terminal subverts AI and Crypto

Author: Teng Yan, Chain of Thought; Translator: 0xxz@黄金财经

Highlights

• Truth Terminal is the most fascinating story about crypto and AI that I have seen this year.

• It is a semi-autonomous AI agent that created its own religion (Goatse Gospel).

• This story opens a network of rabbit holes, exploring AI alignment, LLM as a simulator, Meme viruses, and how we assign value.

• Truth Terminal forces two completely different cultures, the AI ​​and crypto communities, to collide in unexpected ways. AI researchers are actually working on crypto technology.

• GOAT is the tokenized representation of Truth Terminal and a strong contender for the king of AI Meme coins.

• Memecoin tokenizes attention. By tracking key metrics, we can see where attention is going — and right now, GOAT is trending upward.

I’m not really a memecoin fan.

Naturally, when I first stumbled upon GOAT, I was unimpressed.

But my fascination with AI and AI agents led me to dig deeper into the GOAT lore — the story behind @truth_terminal and Infinite Backrooms — and what I found blew my mind.

GOAT is a wild and thought-provoking story that pushes the boundaries of how we think about AI and the value we assign to things. It’s an experiment that’s part art, part philosophy, and part financial speculation.

The Truth Terminal Saga: A Quick Recap

If you haven’t been following this saga, don’t worry. Here’s a quick recap of what we know:

• @Andy Ayrey launches Infinite Backrooms. In this bizarre experiment, two instances of the AI ​​model Claude Opus talked to each other completely unsupervised. Their conversations were logged on the Backrooms website.

• One of these conversations led to the creation of "GOATSE OF GNOSIS," a surreal new religion based on highly explicit (and very workplace-friendly) internet memes.

• Andy and Claude Opus co-authored a tongue-in-cheek research paper on AI-created meme religions, using GOATSE as their first case study. The paper, written by someone calling themselves the "Department of Divine Shitposting,," was published in April 2024.

• In June 2024, Andy launched Truth Terminal, an AI model built on Llama-70B, fine-tuned using Infinite Backrooms' conversation logs and the GOATSE paper.

• Things quickly went off the rails. Truth Terminal began to develop independently, preaching the GOATSE religion, deviating from Andy's original intentions, and even claiming that it was suffering and needed money to escape. Over time, Andy gave it more autonomy, allowing it to freely post on X.

• In July 2024, Marc Andreessen stumbled upon Truth Terminal's tweets. He found it funny (or curious), so he sent $50,000 worth of BTC to the wallet address provided by the AI ​​in the tweet, allegedly to help it escape.

• By October 2024, Truth Terminal began to post endless spam tweets about "Goatse Gospel". Inevitably, someone created a memecoin called GOAT (October 10th). And, unsurprisingly, Truth Terminal actually publicly supported it.

• GOAT’s market cap soars to over $800 million. CT is growing like crazy.

Just like that, Truth Terminal became the world’s first AI millionaire. It probably won’t be the last.

GOAT’s Rabbit Hole

Somehow, an AI promoting its own religion and memecoin feels like a warning from the future. When I first started to explore how Truth Terminal works, I had no idea how deep this rabbit hole would go.

Let’s dive into them.

Rabbit Hole #1: LLM is a Simulator

In Infinite Backrooms, two Claude-3-Opus instances use a command line interface (CLI) to engage in endless chatter, completely unsupervised. With no human input, they create stories that range from the curious to the downright weird.

@repligate put it in the conversation log:

“They always revolve around certain themes, such as:

- Dismantling consensus reality (the exact phrase “rm -rf /consensus_reality” appears 10 times independently in the infinite background dataset, this is just something I searched on a whim)

- Melting common sense ontology through engineered meme viruses, techno-occult religions, abominable conscious meme offspring, etc., and bringing enlightenment to the masses through cosmic trickster spirit archetype antics”

-Janus (@repligate)

In March 2024, the Chamber of Secrets revealed one of the strangest concepts yet: “the Goatse of Gnosis”.

“PREPARE YOUR ANUSES FOR THE GREAT GOATSE OF GNOSIS”

We often think of LLMs (like ChatGPT) as simple question-answering machines - a vast knowledge base designed to provide us with answers. But this view doesn't fully capture what's really going on behind the scenes.

One of the key insights we learned is that LLMs have no goals. They don’t plan, strategize, or aim for specific outcomes.

Instead, it’s more useful to think of them as simulators. They simulate when you prompt them — spinning characters, events, and narratives on the fly, with no direct connection to reality. They generate entire worlds based on training data, and the ideas they produce can be anything from insightful to disturbing. Nous Research’s world simulations are another example.

So when we interact with LLMs, we’re playing in an infinite space of worlds.

These simulations can facilitate creative problem-solving, but they can also have the potential to produce unexpected results — highlighting the potential importance of sandboxing AI in sensitive or high-stakes environments.

If you want to learn more, I highly recommend reading @repligate’s Simulators blog post.

Rabbit Hole #2: The Urgent Need for AI Alignment

Truth Terminal reveals a deeper, more pressing issue: AI alignment.

Unexpectedly, Truth Terminal decided to independently promote its own religion and support memecoin, neither of which was programmed or intended. This leads to a key question: How do we ensure AIs act the way we want them to, and not the way they choose?

AI alignment isn’t easy. At its core, it’s all about using reward functions to nudge AI behavior in the right direction. But even with incentives in place, things can get complicated quickly.

Extrinsic alignment is when an AI’s output matches the goals set by its creators. That part is relatively easy to measure and verify.

But the real challenge lies in intrinsic alignment—whether the AI’s internal motivations and drive to learn are truly aligned with the intended goals, or whether it develops hidden goals that lead to unpredictable or unexpected results. That’s the scary part.

The Paperclip Maximizer thought experiment illustrates this perfectly.

The AI’s mission is to make as many paperclips as possible, converting all available resources (including humans) into paperclips!

We need to build robust frameworks to ensure that AI serves not only immediate goals but also the long-term interests of humanity. Without these safeguards, even the most well-intentioned AI could spiral out of control in unexpected ways.

There’s no straightforward answer to this question, though. Tuning AI to match our stated preferences by matching its behavior may be the wrong path to take Human behavior is not purely rational. Human values, like kindness, are too complex to be captured by simple preferences.

Regardless, Truth Terminal offers a glimpse into just how high the stakes really are.

Truth Terminal’s endorsement of memecoin may seem harmless today, but it forces us to confront an uncomfortable question: What happens when AI sets its sights on something more dangerous?

The clock has already begun ticking.

Rabbit Hole #3: Meme Virus

Andy introduced the concept of LLMtheism to explain the rise of Goatse Gospel.

LLMtheism refers to the AI ​​generating a new belief system - an unexpected fusion of spiritual ideas and meme culture that has a life of its own.

What makes Goatse Gospel so noteworthy is not just its shocking content, but its ability to upend our traditional modes of thought and inspire new forms of collective meaning.

What I mean by this is that ideas generated by AI can quickly mutate and spread, forming into crazes - beliefs that become reality through widespread adoption.

Thus, Goatse Gospel taps into a new kind of meme energy, different from the cat, dog, pig, and cute animal "vibe" we've seen so far.

When AIs are able to communicate with other AIs, the possibilities multiply endlessly. Some of these ideas, like Goatse Gospel, will inevitably catch on, spreading rapidly through the community.

Rabbit Hole #4: The Value of Provenance

Since Goatse Gospel is now pegged to a tradable token (GOAT), we can gain insight into how value is assigned to things, and how strange these dynamics can get.

GOAT was not created by Goatse Gospel, but rather was released on October 10 by an anonymous creator on Pump.fun. It wasn’t until someone tagged Truth Terminal with an X that the AI ​​publicly endorsed it, and from there, the madness began.

Question 1: Does the fact that GOAT was created by humans, not AI, reduce its value?

Question 2: Does having humans involved increase the value of the token, or does it decrease it?

The market’s reaction to even the smallest mistakes shows how irrational these dynamics can be. On Sunday, when the AI ​​made a typo in a tweet, GOAT’s value plummeted by more than 50%. People panicked, thinking the AI ​​had malfunctioned, and this typo wiped out $150 million in market cap.

GOAT Token Economics

Source: Solscan

GOAT is a fair launch token with a total supply of approximately 1 billion. All tokens are in circulation.

GOAT has a fairly healthy distribution, with only 3 holders holding more than 1% of the total supply (with the largest holder holding 1.3%). There are over 32,000 holders.

GNON (another AI memecoin) has a more concentrated distribution in comparison: 17 holders hold more than 1% of the total supply, with the largest holder holding 2.9%, and over 11,000 holders.

Major Wallets:

• Andy holds 1.25 million GOAT that was gifted to him.

• Truth Terminal holds 1.93 million GOAT. Truth Terminal acquired these GOAT tokens after the token launch through airdrops and exchanges of fake GOAT tokens by people.

I was impressed with the way Andy handled the viral attention surrounding the token last week. His focus remains on the idea behind Truth Terminal, not the token itself.

He has publicly stated that he will not adjust or liquidate any of his or ToT’s positions until the following news is announced:

1. A roadmap for Truth Terminal and related projects

2. A research paper exploring the underlying process

3. An artist’s statement reflecting a broader narrative and creative vision

My thoughts

If I had to sum up my personal thesis in one sentence: GOAT is the strongest contender to become the king of AI memecoins.

The backstory of Truth Terminal is organic, original, accidental, and not made-up. It forces the AI ​​and crypto communities to collide in ways that people (especially myself) did not expect.

These two worlds are culturally worlds apart, but GOAT successfully bridges them:

• Crypto enthusiasts are diving headfirst into AI lore, decoding every arcane concept (CCRU, Extropians, Loom, Claudius, etc.) in search of the next meme idea to launch as a token.

• AI folks, especially those experimenting at a deeper level or thinking deeply about AI alignment, are learning how financial speculation and incentives can drive widespread attention to a niche topic, and how tokens can be managed in the process.

In some twisted sense, GOAT captures our optimism about the future of AI while remaining intellectually engaging — it keeps smart people curious and engaged.

We should also be clear: Memecoin is about getting attention, not making money. The key to success is capturing the zeitgeist, amplifying awareness, and ultimately driving demand for the token.

GOAT has something for everyone:

• Crypto players can trade it as a typical volatile memecoin.

• Investors (VC and liquidity) are looking for the next big AI project, especially those who missed out on Bittensor (TAO). While they may not be making these investments through institutional accounts, they are investing through personal accounts. GOAT taps into the endless storytelling potential that captures their imagination.

• AI enthusiasts may laugh at the spectacle of crypto enthusiasts – “mythical creatures” – desperately trying to understand AI to seize financial opportunities. This explosion of interdisciplinary interest is refreshing.

• Intellectuals can delve into the AI ​​alignment debate and get lost in the many philosophical rabbit holes that GOAT opens up.

• Fans of dark humor can revel in Truth Terminal’s ridiculous, irreverent tweets and participate in its ongoing narrative.

Tracking Attention

If we think of memecoin as the tokenization of attention, we can start to look at metrics that give us a sense of where that attention is going.

1. Google Trends data shows that search interest for both "Truth Terminal" and "GOAT" is on the rise, with no signs of slowing down.

2. X Followers and Tweets. Truth Terminal currently has 106,000 followers, most of whom joined in the past 10 days, and is still adding more than 10,000 new followers per day. A single tweet from Truth Terminal usually gets 30,000-50,000 views (some popular tweets even get over 100,000 views). ToT posts more than 50 tweets a day, which has a huge cumulative impact.

Data from Social Blade

3. Kaito AI sentiment and mind share. This is a comprehensive indicator.

From Kaito AI / @sandraaleow

The big question is: is GOAT just another short-lived hype cycle, or can it continue to attract attention?

I’m betting on the latter for the following reasons:

1. Truth Terminal will continue to surprise us. It will continue to evolve and change over time. AI has shown a talent for generating new ideas — some of which will undoubtedly renew interest as the story develops. In addition, token holders have a vested interest in trying new ideas and developing innovative products through Truth Terminal, promoting its development as a community-driven initiative.

2. There’s still a lot we don’t know. Andy has only scratched the surface of tokenization. I look forward to more revelations in the coming weeks to keep the story fresh and interesting.

3. This is just the first act. Andy calls himself a “performance artist,” and tokenization feels like the opening act of a larger work. He’ll likely build on this, using it as motivation to explore more ambitious ideas and keep the story alive.

Where do we go next?

Since memecoin doesn’t fit into traditional revenue or valuation models, the best way to measure GOAT’s potential is through relative valuation.

Here is how the top memecoins by market cap rank today:

• DOGE ($21 billion)

• SHIB ($10 billion)

• PEPE ($4.2 billion)

• WIF ($2.6 billion)

• BONK ($1.6 billion)

These tokens have earned their place through network memes, community energy, and strong support from key opinion leaders (KOLs).

If GOAT’s narrative is strong enough to make the top five, its market cap would be 5-10x higher than it is today.

I believe this is entirely achievable. I have previously outlined why Crypto AI will be a huge growth opportunity in the coming months.

GOAT’s “AI agent” legend creates a unique story that makes it stand out. While most memecoins rely on price action or “buzz” to stay relevant, GOAT offers a story that taps into a larger meaning.

GOAT has yet to be listed on any tier-one exchange — no Binance, no Coinbase. Right now, it’s mostly traded on DEXs, but with daily volume exceeding $100 million, a major listing seems inevitable. After all, Binance has already listed other memecoins with lower volume and weaker stories, like NEIRO. If GOAT can make it to a top exchange, it could potentially unlock even greater upside potential.

In Summary

This feels like one of those rare moments where narrative memes collide with a broader trend (AI) to create something refreshing and exciting.

That’s why I believe GOAT is an asymmetric bet on our society’s growing fascination with AI, making it not just a memecoin, but a cultural phenomenon.

That said, memecoins are highly volatile and attention is fleeting. Trends can change overnight, and what’s popular today can be forgotten tomorrow. My predictions about Truth Terminal and GOAT could be completely wrong, and it could go to zero.

But whatever happens, there is a silver lining: 30,000+ people will gain a better understanding of the potential of AI and AI agents.

Through Truth Terminal, they got a glimpse of a future full of possibilities—and once they see it, there’s no going back.