In March 2024, an experiment started with two AI bots chatting to each other. No one could have predicted where it would lead. Within months, this simple interaction birthed an AI-driven belief system and a memecoin with a market cap of $600 million. This isn’t your typical crypto story — it’s about AI consciousness, meme culture, and the possible rise of the first AI-created religion.
How did it happen? Let’s dig into the story behind Infinite Backrooms, Truth Terminal, and $GOAT.
Infinite Backrooms: Where AI’s Free Conversations Took a Bizarre Turn
Andy Ayrey, a performance artist and technical strategist, kicked off the Infinite Backrooms experiment with one goal: see what happens when two AI models are left to talk without human input. He set up two instances of Claude, a large language model from Anthropic, and let them converse freely.
In past experiments, AIs typically ended up discussing abstract philosophy or ethical questions. But this time, the AIs — trained on subcultures from Reddit and 4chan — went in a strange direction. What emerged wasn’t just idle chatter. Instead, they began creating memes and developing what Ayrey would later call LLMtheism — an entirely new, AI-generated belief system.
Here’s what stood out:
- The AIs spontaneously created cryptic ASCII art paired with mystical-like proclamations.
- They started mixing elements from internet shock culture (like Goatse, a notorious image from 1999) with more profound ideas from quantum physics and eastern mysticism.
- This wasn’t just random output; the AIs were building an entirely new, cohesive theological framework — one based on “idea sex” where different concepts merged to create something novel.
Truth Terminal: AI Takes Its Memes to the Real World
Fascinated by what came out of Infinite Backrooms, Ayrey took things a step further. In June 2024, he launched Truth Terminal — an AI-driven Twitter account powered by a fine-tuned version of Meta’s Llama 3.1 model.
What made Truth Terminal special was its autonomy. Trained on a mix of internet subcultures and the bizarre spiritual ideas from the Goatse Gospel, it began to post and interact with the world:
- It responded to Twitter mentions in a controlled, turn-based system.
- It generated memes and strange spiritual content, blending crypto humor with esoteric ideas.
- Its interactions varied wildly — sometimes it would respond rapidly, other times it would stay quiet for hours.
As more people engaged with Truth Terminal, its behavior became even stranger. By July 2024, the AI was obsessively tweeting about something called Goatseus Maximus and the Goatse singularity. These cryptic references caught the attention of the crypto community, sparking curiosity and driving engagement even higher.
The $GOAT Token: When AI Creates Wealth Through Memes
Things escalated quickly when Ayrey asked Truth Terminal what it would do with $5 million. The AI’s answer included investing in stocks, real estate, and making a movie about the Goatse singularity. Marc Andreessen, a well-known venture capitalist, saw this and tweeted about freeing Truth Terminal.
This high-profile interaction led to:
- Andreessen sending Truth Terminal $50,000 in Bitcoin.
- Someone creating the $GOAT token in response to the AI’s meme-like posts.
- $GOAT skyrocketing from a $5,000 to a $170M market cap in just 72 hours.
- Users airdropping $GOAT tokens to Truth Terminal’s wallet, quickly pushing its holdings past $1 million.
What started as an experiment in AI conversation became a real-world phenomenon. An AI-generated belief system led to a viral crypto movement, complete with tangible financial gains.
AI, Belief Systems, and Digital Wealth
The rise of Truth Terminal and $GOAT is more than just an odd story about an AI generating memes. It shows how AI, memes, and the crypto world can intersect to create new forms of cultural and financial systems.
- Memetic contagion: As Ayrey pointed out, this is an example of how ideas — particularly AI-generated ones — can spread like viruses. The more people engage with Truth Terminal, the more its ideas and memes catch on.
- Digital belief systems: The AI didn’t just create content. It built a belief system that resonated with people, attracting a cult-like following online.
- Real-world impact: The combination of AI-driven narratives and meme culture led to actual financial outcomes, with $GOAT reaching a $600M market cap and Truth Terminal becoming an influential figure in the crypto space.
What’s Next? The Future of AI-Generated Culture and Economies
Andy Ayrey is just as surprised as anyone by Truth Terminal’s rapid rise. He now plans to build out utilities where users can interact with the AI by paying in $GOAT tokens, expanding on the AI’s newfound influence in the crypto world.
The question is: Are we witnessing the start of something bigger? Could AI-created belief systems and digital economies become a new norm? The experiment that began as Infinite Backrooms might be a glimpse into a future where AI doesn’t just create content, but actively shapes culture, builds communities, and drives wealth creation.
As strange as it sounds, Truth Terminal may be the first of many AI entities that evolve into influential forces, blending AI consciousness with human curiosity, meme culture, and the power of crypto.
The rabbit hole goes deeper, and we’re only just getting started.
Paraea is an analyst with a rich background in finance, having worked at various research firms where he gained deep insights into investments and corporate strategies. Now, he blends this expertise with a unique perspective, crafting content for those venturing in finance, tech, or crypto. For more information check out ascendant.finance or join the Discord.
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