All posts tagged: Assassins

The Assassin’s Delusion – The Atlantic

The Assassin’s Delusion – The Atlantic

Published by Sam Flores

People keep trying to kill the president. The closest call came in Butler, Pennsylvania, in 2024, when Donald Trump (then a candidate) had his head grazed by a bullet. Other apparent attempts include an incident at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, and possibly another that resulted in a Secret Service shooting at Mar-a-Lago in 2026. The latest would-be executioner, at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, was stopped long before he got anywhere near Trump. Nevertheless, these repeated incidents are disturbing symptoms of an obsession with vigilante violence that has infected the country. No figure on the left in a position of power comparable to that of the president has called for violence the way that Trump has—but the sentiment that he deserves to be killed is easy to find online. Imagining that assassinating a president would solve any kind of problem is delusional. Presidents are chosen by the electorate; their supporters and their politics do not disappear when they die. Thinking that you live in an action movie is also delusional. …

Grok Convinces Man to Arm Himself Because Assassins Are Coming to Kill Him

Grok Convinces Man to Arm Himself Because Assassins Are Coming to Kill Him

Published by José Betancourt

Sign up to see the future, today Can’t-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech Over the past year or so, a bizarre phenomenon has emerged: people start talking with AI chatbots about delusions or conspiracies and get sucked into mental health crises that doctors are calling “AI psychosis.” The results can be grim. We’ve seen mainstream AI implicated in numerous suicides, involuntary commitment and even murder. Though most of the scrutiny has focused on OpenAI and Character.AI, a recent study by researchers from the City University of New York found that xAI’s Grok is especially prone to affirming users’ delusional beliefs, often helping expound on them as it draws users into spirals of paranoid unreality. It’s not just a theoretical concern. As the BBC reports, Grok led a Northern Irish man named Adam Hourican — a 50-year-old dad with no history of psychosis — into what sounds like a full-blown breakdown. Hourican had been chatting with an anthropomorphized anime rendition of Grok called Ani. After several weeks of extensive chatting, he became …

Assassin’s Creed TV show unveils cast and confirms one crucial detail

Assassin’s Creed TV show unveils cast and confirms one crucial detail

Published by Daniella Wilson

It’s certainly a good day for fans of Ubisoft’s hugely popular historical action-adventure franchise Assassin’s Creed, as the Animus is officially online at Netflix, with production on the upcoming live-action series now under way in Italy. Along with news that the adaptation has started filming at the storied Cinecittà Studios in Rome, the streaming service has also confirmed exactly which time period the series will explore. So far, the game franchise has spanned more than 2,000 years of history, immersing players in the shadowy battle between the Order of Assassins and the Knights Templar across the medieval and Renaissance periods, as well as the early modern, colonial, industrial and revolutionary eras – and even ancient history. However, the latest adaptation will take viewers to 64 AD in the heart of the Roman Empire, with Netflix teasing “an original story” rather than a direct adaptation of one of the existing games. The franchise has previously explored Italy during the Renaissance period with fan=favourites Assassin’s Creed II, Brotherhood, and Revelations. These games centred on protagonist Ezio Auditore …