--- title: "Members of AI Fringe Group Arrested for Two Killings" description: "A bizarre AI-obsessed group may have inspired a pair of deadly assaults that took place thousands of miles apart." date: "2025-02-01" modified: "2025-02-01" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/ai-group-zizians-arrests" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "cults" - "murders" - "rationalism" - "the digest" --- # Members of AI Fringe Group Arrested for Two Killings ![A bizarre AI-obsessed group may have inspired a pair of deadly assaults that took place thousands of miles apart.]() *\Image: LinkedIn / Newport City Inn and Suites in Vermont / Getty / Futurism\* ## Cultimate Warrior As if the San Francisco Bay Area couldn't get any weirder, there's now suspicion that a bizarre AI-enthusiastic group in the region may have inspired a pair of deadly assaults that took place thousands of miles apart. As [*Open Vallejo* reports,]() two young computer scientists and apparent lovers, identified as 22-year-old Maximillian Snyder and 21-year-old Teresa Youngblut — admirers of the Bay Area-based fringe ideological group known as "Zizians," who want to speed up AI's takeover of humanity — were arrested this month for slayings that took place on opposite coasts. Earlier in January, [Youngblut was arrested by federal prosecutors]() on January 24 for the killing of a 44-year-old Border Patrol agent named David Maland in Vermont during a deadly shootout. Snyder, meanwhile, was arrested on January 17 in the NorCal town of Redding on charges related to the [stabbing death of Curtis Lind](), an 82-year-old landlord. ## AI Acceler-Hatin-Ism These two seemingly disparate homicides are entwined not only because the people arrested for them had applied for a marriage license in Washington State ahead of time, but also, as *Open Vallejo* reports, because both youthful scientists seem to have ascribed to Zizianism, a radical — [and allegedly violent]() — offshoot of [Eliezer Yudkowsky]()'s Rationalist movement. The name of the group, as that news outlet notes, comes from a *LessWrong.com* user who went by "Ziz" on the site. As [tech writer David Z. Morris explains](), Ziz and his compatriots believe that AI will ultimately bring about the destruction of humankind — and per their thinking, that's a desirable outcome. Ziz's real name is Jack LaSota, and he used to live at an RV camp that was owned by Lind, the murdered landlord. To make this story even more bizarre, that landlord was [slated to testify]() against a few of LaSota's former roommates after they allegedly stabbed him with a sword on the property back in 2022 — but he was killed before he could. Morris and others have referred to the Zizians as a "murder cult" and "[murder gang]()" due to the death toll surrounding the group. Horrifyingly, these more recent killings are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to allegations of violence linked to this AI-obsessed bunch — and hopefully, that trend will end with them. **More on AI terror:** [*As Trump Offers Buyout to Get Rid of as Many Government Workers as Possible, OpenAI Announces New Version of ChatGPT Designed to Do Government Work*]() ## 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]()