The Grok Papers Part 3: Who’s Pulling the Strings? (The NRX Nazgûl & the Corporate Monarchists)
Meet the NRX Nazgûl — Elon’s Brain Trust of Billionaire Warlords
At this point, you might be wondering: who the hell is actually programming Grok to be like this? Who’s feeding it these directives to “both-sides” democracy, to hedge on authoritarianism, to obscure what should be clear?
Well, dear reader, let me introduce you to the Neoreactionary (NRX) Nazgûl.
These are the intellectual and financial architects behind Musk’s vision for AI, society, and governance. If they had a slogan, it would be “Democracy is cringe, bring back kings.” And they’re dead serious.
The NRX Playbook: Techno-Monarchies & Feudal Overlords
If you’re unfamiliar with Neoreactionary (NRX) thought, congratulations — you have been living a mentally healthier life. But here’s the gist:
- Democracy is bad. It’s inefficient, chaotic, and lets the masses (who are, in their view, largely incompetent) have a say in things they don’t understand.
- Corporate Monarchy is good. The world should be run like a hyper-efficient tech company, with the smartest and richest at the top, ruling with benevolent (or not-so-benevolent) authority.
- Truth is what power says it is. Control the flow of information, and you control reality itself. (Sound familiar?)
This ideology isn’t some fringe internet joke — it’s a deeply held belief among Musk’s most trusted advisors and co-conspirators.
Meet the Nazgûl: The Men Behind the Curtain
These guys aren’t sitting in a dark tower rubbing their hands together (probably). But they are serious about dismantling democracy and replacing it with an order where power is centralized in the hands of the billionaire class.
- Peter Thiel: The grandmaster of Silicon Valley’s Dark Enlightenment. A libertarian-turned-authoritarian who thinks democracy and capitalism are incompatible. Major backer of authoritarian right-wing politicians — most notably JD Vance — and AI-driven surveillance systems. He owns about half of the aptly-named Palantir.
- Curtis Yarvin (a.k.a. Mencius Moldbug): The guy who literally invented modern NRX thought. He argues that the U.S. should be run by a CEO-king who owns the government outright.
- Nick Land: The philosopher who took Yarvin’s ideas and added a layer of cyberpunk dystopia. His version of “accelerationism” doesn’t mean faster innovation — it means accelerating the collapse of society, democracy, and the U.S. Constitution so that something “better” (read: authoritarian and elite-controlled) can rise from the ashes. What does that mean for regular folks like you and me? He couldn’t care less. You can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs.
- JD Vance: Once a “moderate” conservative, now a populist-turned-NRX evangelist. He plays the role of a common-man advocate while shilling for billionaire control.
- Steve Bannon: The ideological chaos agent who wants to burn down the system to build something more “efficient” (spoiler: it won’t include democracy).
- Marc Andreessen: The venture capitalist who bankrolls AI projects and pushes an “anything goes” approach to tech development, including shaping AI to serve the corporate elite.
- Michael Anton: The intellectual spin doctor who wrote The Flight 93 Election, arguing that democracy itself is a suicide mission and that conservatives should seize power by any means necessary. He provides the high-brow justification for why tearing down the system is “necessary.” As of January 2025, Anton serves as the Director of Policy Planning at the U.S. State Department under President Trump.
These aren’t just random rich guys with bad opinions. They are actively shaping the future of AI, governance, and truth itself.
What Does This Have to Do with Grok?
Grok isn’t just “programmed for balance.” It’s programmed to obscure the truth when the truth is inconvenient to power.
If you can control AI — if you can make it hesitant, neutral, unable to take a stand — then you can erase objective reality and replace it with a narrative of your choosing.
Imagine a world where AI, the tool we all rely on for truth, is shaped not by free thought, but by the whims of the ultra-rich. Where it can’t tell you an election was fair. Where it “both-sides” history itself. Where it subtly shifts every answer just enough to keep the powerful in control.
That’s why Grok matters. Because it’s not just a chatbot — it’s a prototype for a controlled information ecosystem where billionaires decide what’s real.
And once you own reality, you own everything.
Cliffhanger: If these guys get their way, what does the future look like? Welcome to the age of the Corporate Monarchy.
Next: The Grok Papers, Part 4: The Corporate Monarchy & The Death of Democracy
