CONCEPT
Schismogenesis
Bateson's term for the progressive differentiation between groups that arises from the dynamics of their interaction — a structural property of certain feedback systems, not a failure of individuals within them.
Working among the Iatmul people of New Guinea in the 1930s, Bateson identified a pattern he called schismogenesis — the progressive differentiation between groups produced by reciprocal behavior that escalates rather than stabilizes. In symmetrical schismogenesis, both parties engage in the same behavior, each provoking a more intense version in the other: boasting provokes louder boasting, threats provoke greater threats. In complementary schismogenesis, the parties engage in different but mutually reinforcing behaviors: domination invites submission, submission invites further domination. Both are positive feedback loops, self-sustaining without external input. The AI discourse — triumphalists versus elegists, boosters versus resisters — is symmetrical schismogenesis of remarkable purity, amplified by algorithmic media whose architecture selects for engagement and therefore for extremity.
In The You On AI Field Guide
Each group's position provokes a more extreme counter-position, and the extremity provokes a still more extreme version of the original. The triumphalists post their metrics: lines generated, products shipped, revenue earned. The metrics provoke admiration among the