There’s a site called IN THE WEIGHTS that I came across through Kev Quirk’s blog post. It checks whether you’re someone who lives on inside certain LLMs.
Large language models encode their knowledge and reasoning through billions of numbers called “the weights.” The amazing capabilities of AI come through adjusting those weights to better represent world knowledge and tasks.
“In the weights” means that a model is able to recall someone without using tools like web search.
intheweights.com
The site also says this matters because, and I quote, “being in the weights means your existence was deemed important in the process of creating superhuman artificial intelligence.”
So I had to try it.
When I first typed in my name, it pulled up a bunch of different people, all with the same name as I have a common Persian name and surname. So I added phrases such as “Free Software” or “Blogger” to narrow it down and check if I actually live on in these LLMs. Turns out, I do.
Worth mentioning, the site itself doesn’t claim to be perfect. It openly admits that models can hallucinate details, mix up common names, and lose accuracy over typos.
Still, it’s worrying. These LLMs, these so-called AI agents, can identify you, learn about you, and quietly keep track of you, and there’s not much you can do about it. What worries me most is how cheap surveillance has become.
Countries used to pour huge amounts of money and resources into spying on people, keeping tyranny running, and forcing citizens into an unjust order people never agreed to. Now, all of that is becoming far too easy.
A handful of cameras across a city, wired up to a computer, and suddenly you know everything about everyone.
It’s a nightmare, honestly. Privacy, and the freedom to stay anonymous whenever you choose, are essential to real freedom and liberty. It’s a basic right, one that lets you raise your voice and speak your mind without the state shutting you down or silencing you.
Now these LLMs are being used to study you: every pattern you follow, everything you say, and everything you do. More than just learning about you, they’re designed to learn you, built and trained to track everything everyone does and says until they understand you inside out.
This same ability could keep people safe from terrorists, warn people of disasters, or help humanity become more creative, more productive, and more free. But it could just as easily be used to keep everyone in line, silenced, and scared.
It could go either way, and I really hope it heads in the right direction, towards a better future. Not one where a new kind of slavery is created, far worse than anything we’ve seen in the movies.