Big tech has its own spooky campfire ghost story, and it's called Roko's Basilisk. The thought experiment imagines a ruthless AI that punishes anyone who didn't help bring it into being. It's the kind of idea that gives philosophers headaches and LessWrong posters nightmares.

So when the latest press blitz for Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses featured a man named Rocco Bassilico, an executive leading the eyewear aspect of the project, the internet understandably short-circuited. Here's a quick rundown of why the coincidence has people in the tech world spooked.

What's Roko's Basilisk?

Back in 2010, a LessWrong user named Roko dropped a short post about a hypothetical superintelligence. His pitch was that, in the future, an all-powerful AI could retroactively punish anyone who ignored its creation. So those who never heard of it were safe, but those who knew but didn't work toward it were toast. The theory came to be known as Roko's Basilisk.

The site's founder, Eliezer Yudkowsky, was not amused. He called the thought experiment an "info-hazard," not only deleted the post, but also banned all discussion of it for five years.

What Are Meta's Ray-Ban Smart Glasses, And Who Is Rocco Bassilico?

Meta's Ray-Ban Stories project was launched through a 2019 partnership with EssilorLuxottica. It's an attempt to turn ordinary sunglasses into wearable tech, and let users take photos, play music, and connect with Meta's AI to create a sort of digital assistant that sits on your nose.

That's where Rocco Bassilico comes in. He's also the stepson of late Luxottica founder Leonardo Del Vecchio, and also the Chief Wearables Officer of EssilorLuxottica, the world's largest eyewear brand. According to a September 2025 interview with TBPN, he pitched the Ray-Ban Meta collaboration to Mark Zuckerberg via cold email.

But the clips of Bassilico's interviews went viral for a different reason: his name. Users on X joked that "Rocco Bassilico" sounded a whole lot like "Roko's Basilisk," and that it was a bit much to have a man with the moniker of a doomsday thought experiment be working on AI-powered glasses.

my name is rokos basilisk and i’m making artificial intelligence that you put on your body https://t.co/KS3S2G7Lng

— richard (@richard_normal) September 18, 2025

Posts like "my name is Roko’s Basilisk and I'm making artificial intelligence you wear on your body" racked up thousands of likes, while others circulated screenshots of his job title with disbelief.

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For the full history of Roko's Basilisk, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.