--- title: "Police Arrest Alleged Leader of “Roko’s Basilisk” Cult Linked to Multiple Murders" description: "Police have arrested Jack \"Ziz\" DeSota, a mysterious figure who allegedly leads a cult tied to a cross-country string of murders." date: "2025-02-20" modified: "2025-02-20" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/police-arrest-ziz-rokos-basilisk" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "artificial superintelligence" - "rationalism" - "roko's basilisk" - "zizians" --- # Police Arrest Alleged Leader of “Roko’s Basilisk” Cult Linked to Multiple Murders ![Police have arrested Jack "Ziz" DeSota, a mysterious figure who allegedly leads a cult tied to a cross-country string of murders.]() *\Image: Sonoma County Sheriff's Office / Getty / Futurism\* Over the weekend, [police managed to apprehend]() Jack "Ziz" DeSota, a mysterious figure who allegedly leads a group called the "Zizians" who are tied to a mind-boggling [cross-country string of murders](). At the heart of the bizarre debacle is AI researcher Eliezer Yudkowsky and his LessWrong forum, which played host to the semi-obscure internet theory known as "[Roko's Basilisk]()." First posited on the site in 2010, the theory-cum-thought-experiment proposed by a user called "Roko" centers on an otherwise benevolent future artificial superintelligence — symbolized by the mythological basilisk that can kill with a mere glance — that would torture any human who was aware of its future possible existence but refused to work toward that goal (the theory caused a [minor online panic](), as users fretted that simply learning about the theory was dooming them to a future of horrific punishment.) A militant vegan, Ziz [and her ilk]() tie their stringent belief in animal rights to a [hodgepodge of political and philosophical stances](). The only true lineage one can trace their beliefs to is Yudkowsky's concept of Rationality, a [popular Silicon Valley]() mode of thought that champions rational thinking over all else — though to be clear, Zizian rationalism seems, from what we can parse anyway, to be a far cry from the researcher's belief in using rational thought to approach problem-solving and decision-making. In fact, the group's ideological stew seems to have repeatedly led to brutal killings. Law enforcement officials and armchair investigators alike are ablaze after [Ziz's astonishing arrest]() in connection to the slaying of a [Border Patrol agent in January]() and [five other killings]() connected to her purported followers — including the [double murder]() of one of the followers' parents on New Year's Eve in 2022. While the public is just now learning about this bizarre alleged cult and its mysterious leader — who apparently [faked her own death]() back in 2022 and who once, per documentation from an online detractor, claimed to be "[suffering from Basilisks]()" as a code for ethical anxiety — folks on LessWrong have been warning about the Zizians for years. In a [nearly two-year-old post](), for instance, a user cautioned that "some people in the rationalist community are concerned about risks of physical violence from Ziz and some of her associates." "Over the past few years," the post reads, "Ziz has repeatedly called for the deaths of many different classes of people." For most of us, this bonkers story is only now coming to light. For those who are aware of and ascribe to rationalism — and those, of course who were close with any of the people allegedly killed by the cult's members — this unfolding tale has likely gone on for far too long. **More on Zizians:** [*Members of AI Fringe Group Arrested for Two Killings*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()