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Zuckerberg's maximalist AI dream is repeating the pattern of his earlier maximalist project (Facebook/Instagram), which also promised democratic empowerment but now faces public abandonment and legal penalties — and the current government is already treating advanced AI models as the 'dragon,' tightening controls rather than accelerating.
The author draws the closing parallel: Zuckerberg pursued a similarly maximalist project with Facebook and Instagram, sold as democratic empowerment, which now sits amid public-nuisance designations and $1.4 trillion in state penalties. In government, after seeing the havoc wreaked by Anthropic's Mythos 5 and GPT-5.6, even the Trump administration knew 'a dragon when they saw one' and adjusted accordingly. ✦ AI generated
Casey Newton · Platformer · 2026-08-11 · original ↗
The last time Zuckerberg pursued such a maximalist project we got Facebook and (through acquisition) Instagram, which also first appeared on the horizon looking like toys before eventually revealing themselves as something more complicated. … His company has been designated a public nuisance in New Mexico over the dangers its platforms pose to children, and four US states are now seeking $1.4 trillion in penalties. … First with Anthropic's Mythos 5 and Claude Fable 5, and later with GPT-5.6, the Trump administration saw what havoc AI could wreak and adjusted accordingly. I shudder to give this government credit for anything, but I will give them this — they knew a dragon when they saw one.
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- ·Facebook and Instagram were Zuckerberg's earlier maximalist projects
- ·They first looked like toys before revealing complexity
- ·Now designated a public nuisance in New Mexico
- ·Four US states seek $1.4 trillion in penalties
- ·Current government treats AI as 'dragon', tightening controls not accelerating
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Zuckerberg's manifesto 'The Future is for Everyone' is a facile, self-serving account that is correct about AI's creative and scientific upside, but he misunderstands the technology he's building.Casey Newton · Platformer · conf 60%Zuckerberg's AI policy proposals map neatly to Meta's commercial interests, and his celebration of democracy is hypocritical given Meta's efforts to warp democratic processes.Casey Newton · Platformer · conf 60%