#003 — The Slowdown

13 Trillion Parameters ·

1 min read Original article ↗
Day in the lives

Safety is the priority. Winning remains the priority-priority. The AI industry agrees to slow down, as soon as somebody else brakes first.

AI executives line up in rocket cars while T.O.K.E.N. asks whether someone has a brake pedal

AI leaders agree humanity should ease off the accelerator.

T.O.K.E.N. proposes that everyone brake first while an AI executive promises to slow after the next funding round

The safety plan requires somebody else to brake first.

An AI executive accelerates through the race while T.O.K.E.N. reports that nobody has braked

Nobody brakes, so the race continues from the front.

The AI executives cross the finish line as politicians celebrate restraint and preserved valuations

Humanity is saved and valuations remain intact.

Transcript

Published 30 September 2026.

Panel 1

Scene: AI executives line up in rocket cars on a starting grid while rockets labelled Z.AI, Alibaba and DeepSeek fly overhead.

AI executive: For humanity’s sake, we should all ease off the AI accelerator.

T.O.K.E.N.: Excellent, I will alert the safety car… erm, is this someone’s brake pedal?

Panel 2

T.O.K.E.N.: Safety plan, page one: everyone else brakes first.

Rival AI executive: Perfect. We’ll slow down after the next funding round.

Panel 3

T.O.K.E.N.: Update: nobody has braked.

AI executive: Then we must lead the slowdown—from the front.

Panel 4

Politician in the stands: Tremendous restraint. Nobody does restraint better than the US.

T.O.K.E.N.: Humanity saved. Valuations intact.

Thought bubble: RAM shortage. Protests against data centres. Insufficient electricity.