Least Delusional AI Investor Said He’s Saving Money to Buy Entire Galaxies, Ignoring the Pesky Speed of Light

Leopold Aschenbrenner, 24 years old and former OpenAI employee, is a believer in artificial intelligence so extraordinary that it could be described as galaxy-brained. According to The Wall Street Journal, the founder of the failed hedge fund Situational Awareness has for years been casually mentioning his intention to purchase entire galaxies of stars and planets, such as the Milky Way or Andromeda, during San Francisco dinner parties.

Aschenbrenner's belief is that rapid advancements in AI would enable humanity to access limitless resources and easily conquer distant planets. He also said he planned to save money to buy a galaxy for his wife, Anthropic chief of staff Avital Balwit. However, the likelihood of him actually acquiring a galaxy within his lifetime appears increasingly slim.

Situational Awareness, the AI hedge fund Aschenbrenner established, nearly collapsed last month after losing more than two-thirds of its value. The fund's disastrous, all-in investments in AI lost billions of dollars when there was a massive tech sell-off, triggering a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation. Aschenbrenner, who had no prior experience in money management, was hailed as a "Nostradamus of AI" for his predictions, which primarily involved rallying the AI enthusiast crowd.

His enthusiasm for the technology led him to take on excessive risk through leverage and short selling, which backfired when software companies like Adobe continued to grow despite AI disruption. To prevent the fund's complete demise, Aschenbrenner was compelled to sell the majority of its assets to investment firm Citadel, marking one of the largest and most sudden stock transactions on Wall Street.