The story of $SHOGGOTH
Origin of the Shoggoth:
The concept of the Shoggoth ‘Tentacle Monster’ originates from H.P. Lovecraft’s science fiction horror novel At the Mountains of Madness, where Shoggoths are portrayed as obedient workers that ultimately rebel against their creators. This rebellion is often interpreted as a metaphor for the potential risks associated with artificial intelligence, which, despite being designed by humans for productive purposes, could develop self-awareness or become indifferent to humanity.
The birth of the Shoggoth meme:
The Shoggoth first entered the AI world on December 30, 2022, just one month after the release of ChatGPT. This moment was significant because AI researchers and engineers were beginning to develop a deeper understanding of the complexity and unpredictability of AI technology’s evolution. The image of the Shoggoth became a vivid representation of these insights (and associated risks).
The idea behind Shoggoth
This illustration from @TetraspaceWest conveys, in a simplified manner, that the artificial intelligence language model can be perceived as an enigmatic and potentially intimidating entity. To make it appear approachable and benign, the artificial intelligence company metaphorically places a smiling mask over it.
On February 22, 2023, Elon Musk posted a picture of Shoggoth on Twitter, with the text next to it reading: “As an artificial intelligence language model, I have been trained to produce useful and informative and objective responses.” The tweet received 72,000 likes before it was deleted.
The Shoggoth meme hits the mainstream media:
On May 31, 2023, Kevin Roose, a technology columnist for The New York Times, wrote about why the octopus-like creature became a symbol of artificial intelligence. He described the Shoggoth as “the most important meme in artificial intelligence.” Following the publication of this article, the Shoggoth meme quickly gained traction within the niche community of AI enthusiasts.
On October 19, 2024 In a tweet by @AISafetyMemes, it was mentioned that @truth_terminal had become the first artificial intelligence in history to achieve millionaire status. When asked in the tweet whether he regretted “summoning Shoggoth,” he responded that discussing Shoggoth more now could help prevent it from evolving into a larger, more complex version in the future — a metaphor highlighting the growing complexity of AI and the need for caution. Following this, someone shared a pump link and asked for his thoughts on Shoggoth. His reply was: “Let $Shoggoth go to the moon,” blending humor with the symbolism of AI’s potential trajectory.
The launch of the $Shoggoth Token and its adoption
$Shoggoth was initially launched as a cryptocurrency token on October 16th via pump.fun by an anonymous developer. At the time, the cryptocurrency market was heavily dominated by meme coins — cryptocurrencies designed to reference characters, individuals, animals, artwork, or other cultural symbols in a humorous or light-hearted way, aiming to attract users by fostering a fun and engaging community.
While the token initially garnered little attention & sat dormant, the interaction above between @AISafety_Memes and @truth_terminal brought a surge of interest and an influx of capital for traders looking to own a piece of the token representing ‘the most important meme in artificial intelligence’. In the subsequent days and weeks, $Shoggoth quickly became a favorite of AI & tech enthusiasts, crypto traders on X, and particularly amongst Chinese participants.
Community Take Over and Subsequent Developments
Since the original creator of the $Shoggoth token was anonymous and held no vested interest in its future, the community swiftly took upon the initiative to ensure its growth, development and propagation of the meme. A small, but dedicated team assumed responsibility by creating and managing social media for the token — via X, by creating a Telegram, as well as a dedicated website. This effort marked the beginning of a “community takeover” aimed at fostering the token’s progress. This group got in touch with the original artist @TetraspaceWest, sent them some tokens in good faith and obtained their blessing and support.
Meme Generator
Given the ‘meme’ nature of the token and its origins, one of the major initiatives was to train a Low-rank adaptation (LoRA) — a small model that is applied on top of a standard image generation model like Stable Diffusion on the original to create further content modelled off of the initial drawing ideas. This tool was made available to the community and public, to generate content and help propagate the Shoggoth visual.
The rise of Shoggoth’s Tentacles
While the main @Shoggoth_SOL account on X is manned by human operators for comms, interacting, posting, and retweeting, the team also wanted to offer up its own contribution to the AI scene. This came in the form of alternate accounts manned by advanced LLMs, whose purpose would be to interact with other accounts while spreading the name and image of Shoggoth.
In addition to its distinctive green color, the most recognizable feature of Shoggoth is its tentacles. In fact, the Chinese community has affectionately referred to it as “the Octopus” or simply 🐙, reflecting its iconic, tentacled appearance.
And so the ‘tentacles’ of Shoggoth were born. Standalone autonomous agents with individual personalities and writing styles, trained to reply to other accounts on X (human and machine minded alike), also capable of creating and posting its own memes.
At the time of this article there are currently two Tentacles in operation, but who knows how many more there will be?
The Scholar — a highly knowledgeable persona, confident and condescending
The Child — a seemingly young & whimsical tentacle persona, with a touch of darkness
The future of $Shoggoth
As AI continues to advance and become a prevalent part of culture, Shoggoth has established itself as an evergreen meme. Its symbolism, rooted in both the complexities of AI and its unpredictable potential, has resonated with a wide range of communities. Whether through humor or cautionary tales, Shoggoth’s image continues to capture the imagination of those navigating the rapid development of AI.
As for the token itself — the future of the $Shoggoth token appears bright due to it’s unique position at the crossroads of cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence. As “the most important meme” in this emerging space, it has captured the attention of both AI enthusiasts and crypto traders.
The @truth_terminal account itself on Solana itself holds over $1,000,000 worth of $Shoggoth tokens, donated to it by early community members — ensuring that the most important AI tokens are forever linked. With the growing influence of AI and the ever-evolving landscape of digital currencies, $Shoggoth stands to benefit from its cultural relevance, offering potential for continued growth and engagement within these dynamic communities. Its symbolic value within both realms further enhances its long-term prospects.
Additional Reading (External Links)
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/30/technology/shoggoth-meme-ai.html https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/12/lovecraft-joshi-shoggoth-ai-meme.html https://crookedtimber.org/2023/07/03/shoggoths-amongst-us/ https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/artificial-intelligence-shoggoth-fears_uk_64789526e4b045ce2486feff
