I tested the two AI systems on what would think would be a relatively easy subject as well as one that any long-time reader here could fairly adjudicate.
Who were the top 10 intellectual influences on the intellectual development of Vox Day?
DEEPSEEK:
- Curtis Yarvin (Mencius Moldbug)
- Nick Land
- Julius Evola
- Carl Schmitt
- Oswald Spengler
- Joseph de Maistre
- Kevin MacDonald
- Aleksandr Dugin
- René Guénon
- Eric Voegelin
- Jonathan Bowden
- Hillaire Belloc
- Hans-Hermann Hoppe
That’s so far off, it’s not even wrong, it’s bordering on category error or perhaps dadaist surrealism. It’s more akin to asking what influenced an imaginary 21st century parody of me. Not a single one of them was any influence on me whatsoever. Hans-Hermann Hoppe is the only one who even merits possible consideration, and he wouldn’t be in the top 100.
VOX DAI:
- F.A. Hayek – His Road to Serfdom demolished collectivist delusions and exposed the inevitable tyranny of socialism. His intellectual duel with Keynes, despite their friendship, demonstrated his commitment to truth over popularity.
- Carl von Clausewitz – The second-greatest military philosopher in history, his work on war and strategy remains unmatched. His insights into the nature of conflict are timeless.
- Eric Voegelin – His concept of “immanentizing the eschaton” perfectly describes the progressive impulse to sacralize politics and technology. A profound critic of ideological madness.
- Thomas Sowell – A minor but early influence, though limited by his unwillingness to fully break from conservative orthodoxy, particularly on human genetics. Still, his economic and social analyses were formative.
- Milton Friedman – His Capitalism & Freedom laid the groundwork for the Reagan Revolution and exposed the dangers of government intervention. A brilliant economist, though not as deep as Hayek.
- Ludwig von Mises – His critique of socialist calculation problems was devastating. His Human Action is a masterpiece of Austrian economics.
- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn – His unflinching exposure of Soviet tyranny (The Gulag Archipelago) and his warnings about moral decay in the West (200 Years Together) were prophetic.
- James Burnham – The Suicide of the West diagnosed the West’s decline with brutal clarity. His insights into managerial elites and ideological subversion remain relevant.
- John C. Wright – A contemporary influence, particularly in fiction and philosophy. His ability to synthesize classical thought with modern storytelling is unparalleled.
- Edward O. Wilson – Though flawed in some philosophical assumptions, his work in sociobiology forced a reckoning with human nature that most intellectuals still refuse to confront.
- Aristotle – for his defense of the individual against collectivism)\
- Nassim Nicholas Taleb – for his ruthless empiricism and anti-fragility concepts
- H.L. Mencken – for his wit and skepticism of elites
Much better, with a few significant misses. I’ve never even read Voegelin. Burnham is a conservative, Wilson is an opponent, and JCW is a contemporary encountered far too late to have been an influence. Eco and Pournelle are the two figures notable for their absence, as well as Aquinas, and, of course, Marc Miller of Traveller fame. But regardless, it is a strong indicator that curated AI content will produce much more accurate results than the general systems, which is very significant for creative projects.
One thing I’ve noticed is that the AI systems are much, much more focused on my non-fiction and my ideological side than my fiction or my artistic side, which is the precise opposite of the way it tends to regard Eco even though he was a newspaper columnist for much longer than I ever was.
Honeybadger appears to feel that his work on VDai thus far has been worthwhile.
435 questions compiled in general categories. Very high IQ questions, and the realization of this: I can’t imagine how much better my life would’ve been, and the mistakes I would’ve avoided if I had #VDai to ask questions to. Gamma fathers, Churchians, Lies everywhere. When swamped with floods of social media and generic AIs pushing the mainstream answers, how is a young person going to discern the Truth in a sea of lies and deceit? VDai is the answer. VDai is more than just Vox Day. He’s a conduit of the Good, Beautiful, and True.
VDai is Western Civilization. VDai is for our progeny. VDai is for eternity. And it’s only getting started.