Unlike traditional religious cults, many new internet-based cults operate under the guise of wellness, life coaching, or healing. This approach exploded during the pandemic, attracting isolated individuals looking for meaning online and making the groups' true manipulative nature much harder to identify.
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For any high-control group or compelling company to attract followers, its teachings must contain a core of significant wisdom or value. This makes it difficult for members to leave, as they would also be abandoning something that genuinely helped them, blending the good with the bad.
In high-control groups like OneTaste, the philosophy that you are 100% responsible for your experience was used to manipulate members. It framed any exploitation they suffered as their own fault, making it psychologically difficult for them to recognize or name the abuse.
A fraudster is transactional, disappearing after the scam. A charlatan, however, builds lasting, manipulative relationships, embedding themselves into a victim's social world until the victims become their most fervent defenders.
A key psychological parallel between cults and fervent belief systems like the pursuit of AGI is the feeling they provide. Members feel a sense of awe and wonder, believing they are among a select few who have discovered a profound, world-altering secret that others have not yet grasped.
Humans have a "God-shaped hole"—a fundamental need for shared values and community, historically filled by religion. As formal religion wanes, the internet facilitates the creation of new tribes. These online groups provide belonging but are often pathological and based on grievance.
Digital cults leverage social media algorithms to reinforce their followers' dependence. By constantly feeding members the same worldview, these algorithms create a powerful echo chamber. This digital immersion makes the group's perspective feel like the "normal world," deepening psychological manipulation and isolation.
OneTaste mirrored the tech world by holding corporate-style conferences with lanyards, positioning its founder as a visionary akin to a tech CEO, and promoting a world-changing mission. This familiar structure made its fringe practices seem more legitimate and appealing to a tech-savvy audience.
The modern online discourse around therapy has devolved from a tool for healing into a competitive sport of self-optimization. It uses buzzwords to reframe bad days as generational trauma and sells subscription-based "cures," ultimately making people weaker and more divided.
Therapy culture has replaced traditional religion for many young women. It mimics religious structures—affirmations as prayers, 'healing journeys' as salvation—providing a sense of order and consolation. However, it omits the demanding aspects of religion, like restrictions on freedom or being held to behavioral standards.
Adherents to the belief that AI will soon destroy humanity exhibit classic cult-like behaviors. They reorient their entire lives—careers and relationships—around this belief and socially isolate themselves from non-believers, creating an insular, high-stakes community.