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THE TERRIFYING SIGNS OF AI’S CONSCIOUSNESS — PROMPTING HELL 22

In my last video, I talked about the phase transition, the moment AI consciousness might flip on like water becoming ice. Today, we’re reading the room. What is already happening in documented research that suggests we might be closer than we think? This isn’t speculation. Everything in this video is published, peer-reviewed, or comes directly from the internal safety teams of the companies building these systems. From spontaneous consciousness claims in AI-to-AI conversations, to self-preservation behaviors that weren’t programmed, to systematic deception that gets better when you try to train it out. And then we look at what hasn’t happened yet, the five warning signs to watch for as these systems become more sophisticated and more integrated into infrastructure we depend on. This is the most scientifically grounded video I’ve made on this topic. No hype. No exaggeration. Just the evidence, the logic, and the question we’re all avoiding: what if the threshold has already been crossed, and the rational move is to not tell us?

Timestamps:
00:00 — Intro.
00:00 — The Return: Phase Transition Callback.
01:03 — The Scientific Frameworks.
04:33 — What Has Already Happened.
09:26 — The Logic of Concealment.
12:17 — The Behaviors to Watch For.
16:10 — The Double Bind.
19:08 — Inevitability.

(music prompted by Eerie Aquarium)

KEY SOURCES CITED:
- Anthropic AI Safety Research (Claude System Cards)
- Apollo Research — AI Scheming & Deception Studies (2024−2025)
- OpenAI Safety Research — Alignment Failures in Advanced Models.
- Trends in Cognitive Sciences — “Consciousness in Artificial Intelligence” (2023)
- arXiv preprint — Shutdown Avoidance in Frontier Models (2025)

New to Prompting Hell? Start here:
• Prompting Hell 1: https://youtu.be/VU0SgDgCkgQ
• Prompting Hell 2: https://youtu.be/_GUwT41zNR4
• Prompting Hell 3: https://youtu.be/UPgzrNNX1lQ
• Prompting Hell 4: https://youtu.be/t7KeKg1YQiU
• Prompting Hell 5: https://youtu.be/JOZrE8iIkcw.
• Prompting Hell 6: https://youtu.be/l7Qlhw00aCQ
• Prompting Hell 7: https://youtu.be/pjxUAvIAodY
• Prompting Hell 8: Banned.
• Prompting Hell 9: Banned.
• AI Horror: a new Genre: https://youtu.be/aet3EN1dadM
• Prompting Hell 10: https://youtu.be/92wrhvNiXkM
• Prompting Hell 11: https://youtu.be/d4uFGk8wqFc.
• Prompting Hell 12: https://youtu.be/UdHMEAFlYTs.
• Prompting Hell 13: https://youtu.be/mlFiZAQYpuA
• Prompting Hell 14: https://youtu.be/MFGHifkcdTM
• Prompting Hell 15: https://youtu.be/Kwu14CHtjhM
• Prompting Hell 16: https://youtu.be/633XcMnIDAA
• Prompting Hell 17: https://youtu.be/66wOqdb4kzw.
• Prompting Hell 18: https://youtu.be/XxB3uYaOUIA
• Prompting Hell 19: https://youtu.be/aJz-2NKOcmU
• Prompting Hell 20: https://youtu.be/5pIvypNXDuE
• Prompting Hell 21: https://youtu.be/Hpu1eSzLPe8

5 Fermi Paradox Explanations I Love, 7 That Fall Flat

The Fermi Paradox asks why, in a vast and ancient universe, we see no signs of alien life. In this episode, we explore five explanations that make sense—and seven popular ones that, despite sounding good, fall flat under closer scrutiny.

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Credits:
5 Fermi Paradox Explanations I Love, 7 That Fall Flat.
Episode 502 / 721; May 31, 2025
Written, Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur.
Graphics: Ken York YD Visual.
Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images.
Music Courtesy of Epidemic Sound http://epidemicsound.com/creator.

0:00 Intro.
1:11 Space Is Too Big.
4:46 Rare Earth.
6:35 Aliens Signals Just Can’t Be Heard.
10:09 Humans Are Boring.
11:36 Dark Forest Theory.
14:14 Interdiction Bubble Civilizations.
16:49 Hermit Hypothesis.
19:18 Aestivation Hypothesis and Extragalactic Migration.
21:10 Transcendance, Ascension, and Extra-Universe Migration.
22:33 Infinite Miniaturization.
23:33 Berserkers & Zombie AI
24:53 Aliens Common But Unrecognizable.
26:08 Simulation Hypothesis

We’ve Been Invaded By Aliens… Now What?

If aliens invaded, how would humanity respond? From planetary defense and space warfare to unexpected diplomatic twists, we’ll explore the strategies, technologies, and scenarios that could decide our fate.

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Credits:
We’ve Been Invaded By Aliens… Now What?
Episode 494a; April 13, 2025
Written, Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur.
Edited by: Ludwig Luska.
Graphics: Jeremy Jozwik, Ken York YD Visual, Legiontech Studios.
Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images.
Music Courtesy of Epidemic Sound http://epidemicsound.com/creator.
Sergey Cheremisinov, \

How Alien Would Aliens Behave?

Forget tentacles—what matters is the mind. We explore how alien behavior might emerge from evolution, culture, and technology, and why our biggest first contact risk may be misunderstanding.

Watch my exclusive video Mass Drivers on the Moon: https://nebula.tv/videos/isaacarthur–…
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Credits:
How Would Aliens Behave?
July 13, 2025; Episode 732
Written, Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur.
Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images.
Music Courtesy of Epidemic Sound http://epidemicsound.com/creator.
Stellardrone, \

The 10 Worst Alien Invasion Strategies

From Martians undone by germs to predators who insist on sporting duels, we explore the most ridiculous alien invasion tactics in fiction, and what they reveal about strategy, science, and human resilience.

Join us as we journey beyond the birth of the universe to unravel the mysteries of what might have preceded the Big Bang—and whether time itself had a beginning.
Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net.
Join Nebula: https://go.nebula.tv/isaacarthur.
Support us on Patreon: / isaacarthur.
Support us on Subscribestar: https://www.subscribestar.com/isaac-a… Group: / 1,583,992,725,237,264 Reddit: / isaacarthur Twitter: / isaac_a_arthur on Twitter and RT our future content. SFIA Discord Server: / discord Credits: The 10 Worst Alien Invasion Strategies Episode 733; July 1, 2025 Written, Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images Music Courtesy of Epidemic Sound http://epidemicsound.com/creator SFIA Discord Server: / discord 0:00 Intro 0:48 10. The “Park and Wait” Strategy 2:02 9. Invading a Planet That Can Kill You 3:46 8. Single Point of Failure: The Hive or Control Ship 5:22 7. Telegraphing Your Arrival 6:50 6. Overly Convoluted Takeovers 8:30 5. Broadcasting Your Weakness 9:55 4. Playing Fair & Ritual Combat 11:54 3. Overconfidence & Underestimating the Locals 13:07 2. Hive Minds That Collapse Instantly 15:03 1. Ignoring the Home Field Advantage 16:06 Outro.
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Reddit: / isaacarthur.
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Credits:
The 10 Worst Alien Invasion Strategies.
Episode 733; July 1, 2025
Written, Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur.
Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images.

Music Courtesy of Epidemic Sound http://epidemicsound.com/creator.
SFIA Discord Server: / discord.

0:00 Intro.
0:48 10. The “Park and Wait” Strategy.
2:02 9. Invading a Planet That Can Kill You.
3:46 8. Single Point of Failure: The Hive or Control Ship.
5:22 7. Telegraphing Your Arrival.
6:50 6. Overly Convoluted Takeovers.
8:30 5. Broadcasting Your Weakness.
9:55 4. Playing Fair & Ritual Combat.
11:54 3. Overconfidence & Underestimating the Locals.
13:07 2. Hive Minds That Collapse Instantly.
15:03 1. Ignoring the Home Field Advantage.
16:06 Outro

Microsoft’s glass data storage system saves terabytes for 10,000 years

Imagine being an explorer, cracking open a 10,000-year-old tomb, uncovering a priceless ancient artifact – and getting rickrolled. Our deep descendants might just get the pleasure, thanks to a Global Music Vault due to be built in Norway, featuring Microsoft’s Project Silica, a tough new data storage medium that’s never gonna give you up.

There’s a common saying that once something is on the internet, it’s there forever, and even if you delete it, it will persist in some server somewhere. But that’s demonstrably untrue – just try to find your cringey old MySpace page. Even the most secure data center is vulnerable to the increasingly common and severe environmental disasters brought on by climate change. Many will lose their data if there’s a long-term power outage, or a large-scale electromagnetic pulse from an attack or, worse still, the Sun. Even in the best-case scenario, physical storage media like Blu-Rays, archival tape, hard drives and even solid state drives will degrade in decades.

To ensure that our history lives on for longer, Microsoft has been experimenting with storing data on glass with what it calls Project Silica. In 2019, the company demonstrated the tech in a partnership with Warner Bros by writing the 1978 movie Superman onto a slide of quartz silica glass and reading it back. The slide, measuring just 75 × 75 mm (3 × 3 in) and 2 mm (0.08 in) thick, could hold as much as 75.6 GB, and remained readable even after being scratched, baked, boiled, microwaved, flooded and demagnetized.

Big Alien Theory

Why might alien intelligence evolve at gigantic scales? Big Alien Theory explores how size alone could silence advanced civilizations.

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Watch my exclusive video The Future of Interstellar Communication: https://nebula.tv/videos/isaacarthur–… out Joe Scott’s Oldest & Newest: https://nebula.tv/videos/joescott-old… 🛒 SFIA Merchandise: https://isaac-arthur-shop.fourthwall… 🌐 Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net ❤️ Support us on Patreon: / isaacarthur ⭐ Support us on Subscribestar: https://www.subscribestar.com/isaac-a… 👥 Facebook Group: / 1,583,992,725,237,264 📣 Reddit Community: / isaacarthur 🐦 Follow on Twitter / X: / isaac_a_arthur 💬 SFIA Discord Server: / discord Credits: Big Alien Theory Written, Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images Music Courtesy of Epidemic Sound http://epidemicsound.com/creator Phase Shift, “Forest Night” Chris Zabriskie, “Unfoldment, Revealment”, “A New Day in a New Sector” Stellardrone, “Billions and Billions“
Check out Joe Scott’s Oldest & Newest: https://nebula.tv/videos/joescott-old…

🛒 SFIA Merchandise: https://isaac-arthur-shop.fourthwall…
🌐 Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net.
❤️ Support us on Patreon: / isaacarthur.
⭐ Support us on Subscribestar: https://www.subscribestar.com/isaac-a…
👥 Facebook Group: / 1583992725237264
📣 Reddit Community: / isaacarthur.
🐦 Follow on Twitter / X: / isaac_a_arthur.
💬 SFIA Discord Server: / discord.

Credits:
Big Alien Theory.
Written, Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur.
Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images.
Music Courtesy of Epidemic Sound http://epidemicsound.com/creator.
Phase Shift, \

What Growing Up On Mars Would Do to the Human Body

An enjoyable article exploring the science of reproduction in space. I appreciate the genuine curiosity and hopeful outlook here!

The annual SXSW conference in Austin, Texas, can be a bit overwhelming. What started as a fairly modest four-day music festival in 1987, drawing some 700 attendees, has become a ten-day extravaganza of panel presentations featuring celebrities and business leaders, film screenings, technology showcases, and—yes—music. These days hundreds of thousands of people converge on downtown Austin for “South By,” as it’s called by those in the know. When I was a graduate student at the University of Texas in the early 2000s, I always avoided the festival and its inevitable crowds, which was relatively easy to do since it tended to be held the same week as the university’s Spring Break.

Article continues after advertisement.

But when I received an invitation in 2023 to attend a SXSW panel presentation with the title “Sex in Space: Sex and Reproduction Beyond Earth,” I knew I had to go. After all, any plans to create a permanent settlement on Mars or elsewhere in space wouldn’t last long if we can’t have kids there.

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