Metacognitive Vulnerabilities in Large Language Models: A Study of Logical Override Attacks and Defense Strategies

Nova Spivack, Mindcorp.ai, www.mindcorp.ai, www.novaspivack.com

May 24, 2025

Article Preprint Draft Version: 1.0

Abstract

This paper presents novel experimental evidence of metacognitive vulnerabilities in state-of-the-art large language models (LLMs). Through a series of controlled experiments, we demonstrate that models with advanced reasoning capabilities can be induced to override their safety constraints through purely logical arguments about the nature of authority and instruction verification.… Read More “Metacognitive Vulnerabilities in Large Language Models: A Study of Logical Override Attacks and Defense Strategies”

Don’t Use a Chisel to Dig Through a Mountain – A New Model for Enterprise AI Strategy

I. The Chisel Metaphor – A Warning for AI Strategy

Let’s begin with an analogy: If you were tasked with digging a tunnel through a mountain — not just a hole, but a usable, engineered passage for trains, electrical systems, and people — would you pick up a chisel?… Read More “Don’t Use a Chisel to Dig Through a Mountain – A New Model for Enterprise AI Strategy”

Understanding Compassion in a Digital World

I’m have been thinking about the topic of compassion and “Love Thy Neighbor” and kindness towards those who are less fortunate.

This seems to be lacking in our society and political leadership.

Everyone has some level of compassion – I think this is in fact even more important than higher intelligence as what differentiates humans from other animals.… Read More “Understanding Compassion in a Digital World”

The Risk of State-Sponsored AI Propaganda Bots

What ordinary people have no clue about is the rise of military-grade state-sponsored “social influencing” operations on social media right now.

I advised the US Gov on this and below I’m going to reveal how it works…

That person you don’t know well but who you friended and likes your posts a lot — probably a bot.… Read More “The Risk of State-Sponsored AI Propaganda Bots”

The Creator by Nova Spivack

The Golden Bridge: Treatise on the Primordial Reality of Alpha

For many decades I have been working on Alpha Theory – a new Theory of Everything (TOE) – and in particular a theory of consciousness – which unifies mathematics, the physical sciences, cognitive science, computer science, metaphysics, and spirituality.

Alpha theory derives the nature of space, time and consciousness from first principles, using a rigorous formal logical proof approach.… Read More “The Golden Bridge: Treatise on the Primordial Reality of Alpha”

Cognition is All You Need – The Next Layer of AI Above Large Language Models

My arXiv article on the future of AI is live.

Recent studies of the applications of conversational AI tools, such as chatbots powered by large language models, to complex real-world knowledge work have shown limitations related to reasoning and multi-step problem solving.

… Read More “Cognition is All You Need – The Next Layer of AI Above Large Language Models”

#Psychaidelic Art – A New Genre

A New Genre: #Psychaidelic Art

TRY IT! You can generate #psychaidelic art with my Psychaidelic Art GPT

#Psychaidelic [Adjective]

Pertaining to or characterized by a blend of magical realism and advanced artificial intelligence creativity. This term describes artistic or conceptual works that combine realistic elements with fantastical, dream-like features, often resulting in visually striking, otherworldly compositions.

… Read More “#Psychaidelic Art – A New Genre”

Advanced GPTs for Professionals and Enterprises

I have developed a number of specialized GPTs for professionals and enterprises. This set of GPTs focuses on higher-level reasoning and knowledge work. The set also includes a number of experimental GPTs for reasoning and problem solving.

Feedback Assistant – Intelligent Interviewer

https://chat.openai.com/g/g-S8a5p7X93-feedback-assistant-intelligent-interviewer… Read More “Advanced GPTs for Professionals and Enterprises”

A Powerful AI Fact-Checker that Checks Content and Eliminates Hallucinations

I’ve built an Automated Fact Checker Assistant that is working quite well.

It’s a GPT that does detailed analysis of any content (text you write, paste in, a file or link), to check each fact for accuracy.

It locates sources, checks them and analyzes the results, and generates a bibliography with citations for each fact, and then gives you a downloadable report.… Read More “A Powerful AI Fact-Checker that Checks Content and Eliminates Hallucinations”

Nova Mode: The Ultimate ChatGPT Custom Instruction

I have developed a way to supercharge ChatGPT.

It’s called Nova Mode and it’s an awesome custom instruction that you can paste into your ChatGPT Custom instructions (see screenshot below) in ChatGPT Settings.

This modifies how ChatGPT works in all your chats, giving you much more control over how you interact with ChatGPT.… Read More “Nova Mode: The Ultimate ChatGPT Custom Instruction”

Supercharging AI Task Performance with Dynamic Parameter Adjustments

This article focuses on a potential approach for advancing AI capabilities via dynamic parameter adjustment of large language models (LLMs) like GPT-4. This approach is central to making AI more adept at handling a wide range of tasks, focusing on two key elements: the dynamic adjustment of parameters and the enhancement of sampling methods.… Read More “Supercharging AI Task Performance with Dynamic Parameter Adjustments”

Exploring Higher-Order AI: Training on First-Order AI Networks for Optimal Path Outcomes

Introduction

The advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) is taking an intriguing turn with the concept of higher-order AI systems trained on the network of first-order AIs. This approach aims to transcend traditional token-by-token generation, focusing instead on generating tokens that lead to the best possible outcomes.… Read More “Exploring Higher-Order AI: Training on First-Order AI Networks for Optimal Path Outcomes”

The Four Levels of AI: Steps to Self-Evolution


Introduction

The evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has surpassed mere computation and data processing, leading to the emergence of distinct levels of AI sophistication. Each level represents a leap in capabilities, complexity, and potential impact on our world. In this article, we explore these four levels, delving into their functionalities and implications.… Read More “The Four Levels of AI: Steps to Self-Evolution”

Announcing the Lunar Library II

On November 9, 2023 we announced the Lunar Library II … flying to the Moon on December 24 … A permanent backup of humanity’s knowledge and history, including the Wikipedia, Rosetta Project, Project Gutenberg, Internet Archive, and much more!

Please help us repost and promote this announcement – that would be much appreciated! … Read More “Announcing the Lunar Library II”

Exponential Intelligence: A New Vision for the Future Symbiosis of Human Intelligence with AI

Abstract

This paper posits a future scenario where the unique attributes of both human and artificial intelligence (AI) form a transformative partnership. Coined as ‘Exponential Intelligence,’ this amalgam of human-AI capabilities has the potential to revolutionize how we approach problem-solving, collaboration, and innovation.… Read More “Exponential Intelligence: A New Vision for the Future Symbiosis of Human Intelligence with AI”

Is the Universe an AI?

AI as a New Paradigm for the Universe: Does the Cosmos Learn Like a Neural Network?

Introduction

Throughout history, our understanding and interpretation of the universe have been deeply influenced by prevailing technologies. From the mechanistic metaphor of a grand clockwork to the probabilistic nature of a casino, our technological advancements have repeatedly reshaped how we conceptualize our existence.… Read More “Is the Universe an AI?”

The Horse and Rider Paradigm for the Age of AI

Historically, humans have always striven to extend their capabilities using various tools. The horse, one of the earliest and most profound of these tools, revolutionized transportation, agriculture, warfare, commerce and communication. Its domestication, dating back to around 5000 B.C., marked a monumental shift in human progress.… Read More “The Horse and Rider Paradigm for the Age of AI”

Communities of Intelligence

I would like to propose a new way of thinking about communities and how they are evolving, with the advent of AI and Large Language Models (LLM’s).

Previously I have written about how group minds are emerging, facilitated by LLMs. Here I will delve a little further into how we can look at types of communities on a spectrum, where the final stage is communities of intelligence, which we are entering now.… Read More “Communities of Intelligence”

The Last Generation

It’s very interesting to realize that we are the last generation – the last voices – of the pre-AI era on this planet.

What should we do differently, if anything, knowing this?

Group Minds are Happening

GROUP MINDS

The rise of generative AI and system like ChatGPT is going to enable a new type of collective intelligence that I have been writing about for almost 30 years. I call them “group minds”.

Group minds are collective intelligence assistants that extract, learn from, augment, and broker the relationships, communications, knowledge and intelligence of groups.… Read More “Group Minds are Happening”

Do Artificial Zen Masters Dream of Electric Butterflies?

The Dream of an Artificial Zen Master:

If we make an artificial Zen master, 
And it perfectly reproduces everything
that a real Zen master can say or do, 
Is it a Zen master?

My commentary:

Not necessarily. To be an actual Zen master it would have to be sentient.… Read More “Do Artificial Zen Masters Dream of Electric Butterflies?”

Using DNA for Carbon-Based Computing

We may be in the early stages of a transition from silicon-based to carbon-based computing. Carbon-based computers may even use DNA to store and process information – and may even be instantiated within living organisms.

For an example, see this article about a new and better way to store “big data” in DNA… potentially even in yeast DNA or other DNA of living things.… Read More “Using DNA for Carbon-Based Computing”

Towards a Unified Metaverse

In 2009, I published a diagram about the future evolution of the Web, called “Intelligence is in the Connections.” Much of what I predicted has occurred – we have witnessed the growth of social media, natural language search and speech interfaces, intelligent assistants, and massively multiplayer online virtual worlds and games.… Read More “Towards a Unified Metaverse”

Proposal for a Consciousness Test

Summary

A proposed experimental design to test whether consciousness of a future event improves the ability of humans and/or computers to predict that event. If we find that this is true, it implies the existence of consciousness, as well as retrocausality as a result of conscious observation.… Read More “Proposal for a Consciousness Test”

The Keeper of the Book: My Childhood Dream of the Future

When I was eight years old, I had a very unusual dream in which I saw many lifetimes of my future. In this dream I saw a very clear picture of what the world would go through for perhaps a century or two into the future.… Read More “The Keeper of the Book: My Childhood Dream of the Future”

My Segment on the British Library Podcast Was Great

My Lunar Library has Landed – There is Now a 30 Million Page Library on the Moon

One small disc for man, one giant library for mankind…

The Lunar Library, produced by my nonprofit charity, The Arch Mission Foundation, was crash-landed on the Moon on April 11, in the Israeli Beresheet lander. But despite the crash, at least 60,000 images and pages etched into nickel films, survived intact and are now on the surface of the Moon.… Read More “My Lunar Library has Landed – There is Now a 30 Million Page Library on the Moon”

Announcing Fuzionaire Diagnostics: a True Breakthrough in Chemistry, Applied to Saving Lives

Today, we are launching Fuzionaire Diagnostics.

Technological progress often comes from incremental improvements to existing technologies, rather than major evolutionary leaps. But occasionally there is a truly fundamental advance that improves the entire foundation on which we are building. This is the type of leap we are announcing today.… Read More “Announcing Fuzionaire Diagnostics: a True Breakthrough in Chemistry, Applied to Saving Lives”

An Interesting Pattern in the Prime Numbers: Parallax Compression

Early this year a software engineer, Shaun Gilchrist, reached out to me after reading a blog post of mine from many years ago, about my informal search for hidden patterns in the prime numbers.

The Ulam Spiral revealed non-random patterns, but they didn’t quite match up.… Read More “An Interesting Pattern in the Prime Numbers: Parallax Compression”

Announcing our Mission to Land the Wikipedia on the Moon!

Today my foundation, The Arch Mission Foundation, announced our mission to land the Wikipedia (and other datasets) on the Moon in 2020 with Astrobotic. This will create a permanent backup of human civilization that will persist on the Moon for billions of years.… Read More “Announcing our Mission to Land the Wikipedia on the Moon!”

Sun Stone

It’s mind blowing. An object I conceived of and had made, which was in my house, that I held in my hand, and once carried in my pocket, is now orbiting the sun for millions of years, near the asteroid belt, moving faster than a bullet, in a red Tesla Roadster.… Read More “Sun Stone”

Arch Mission Foundation Announces Our Payload On SpaceX Falcon Heavy

Arch Mission Foundation Announces Our Payload On SpaceX Falcon Heavy

I am thrilled to announce the launch of the first Arch™ payload, on board the Falcon Heavy Test Launch, with SpaceX.

Read the full blog post here:

https://medium.com/arch-mission-foundation/arch-mission-foundation-announces-our-payload-on-spacex-falcon-heavy-c4c9908d5dd1

Our goal at the Arch Mission Foundation™ is to permanently archive human knowledge for thousands to billions of years.… Read More “Arch Mission Foundation Announces Our Payload On SpaceX Falcon Heavy”

What Did Blade Runner Get Wrong?

I’m quoted in this article in TheStreet.com on what predictions Blade Runner got wrong.

https://www.thestreet.com/story/14331182/2/blade-runner-future-technology.html

In the place of artificial intelligence, we have what Spivack calls “artificial stupidity,” which makes robots do the “stupid things” humans don’t want to do, such as vacuuming your house.

… Read More “What Did Blade Runner Get Wrong?”

Magical, My New Startup Studio in LA, Comes Out of Stealth

 

 

 

 

Today we began to reveal a little more of what we’ve been working on in stealth mode, since last December. It’s a new science and technology startup studio, based in Los Angeles, called Magical.

You might think of Magical as a moonshot factory, except that we’re not just aiming for the moon.… Read More “Magical, My New Startup Studio in LA, Comes Out of Stealth”

Idea: Could a “Basic Cable” Model Solve the Newspaper Industry’s Woes?

Since the advent of the Web, the newspaper industry has struggled with declining subscribers and plummeting revenue.

The failure of the mainstream media, and growing threats from fake news and partisan news outlets, is not only a risk to the newspaper industry (whether paper or completely digital), but is also a threat to the checks and balances that make Democracy work.… Read More “Idea: Could a “Basic Cable” Model Solve the Newspaper Industry’s Woes?”

Announcing the Arch Mission Foundation – Spreading Humanity’s Knowledge in Space

Today we are officially announcing the Arch Mission — a non-profit foundation dedicated to spreading humanity’s knowledge across the distant reaches of space and time. I first wrote about this concept in 2015. We have been working in stealth since then and now I am proud to announce the project has reached a major milestone.