Editing Zizians (section)

==Beliefs==
A small offshoot of the [[rationalist community]],<ref name="Barba-2025">{{Cite web |last1=Barba |first1=Michael |last2=Gafni |first2=Matthias |last3=Swan |first3=Rachel |last4=Cassidy |first4=Megan |date=January 31, 2025 |title=Who is 'Ziz'? How a mysterious group with roots in the Bay Area is linked to six deaths |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/ziz-lasota-zizians-rationalism-20063671.php |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250201113422/https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/ziz-lasota-zizians-rationalism-20063671.php |archive-date=February 1, 2025 |access-date=February 1, 2025 |website=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |quote=}}</ref><ref name="Mandoli-2025">{{Cite web |last1=Mandoli |first1=Ava |last2=Gascon |first2=Daymond |last3=Caughey |first3=Erin |last4=Gafni |first4=Matthias |date=January 31, 2025 |title=Maps and timeline clarify confusing 'Ziz' case linked to deaths of Bay Area landlord, five others |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2025/ziz-killings-map-timeline/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250214095438/https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2025/ziz-killings-map-timeline/ |archive-date=February 14, 2025 |access-date=February 1, 2025 |website=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]}}</ref><ref name="Brown-2025a" /> Zizians hold a distinctive ideology combining [[anarchism]],<ref name="Casey, 2025">{{cite news |last1=Casey |first1=Michael |date=February 17, 2025 |title=Police arrest apparent leader of cultlike 'Zizian' group linked to multiple killings in the US |url=https://apnews.com/article/zizians-killings-border-patrol-bf599db6b9ec354c68ed5ff4d5701b84 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250217204746/https://apnews.com/article/zizians-killings-border-patrol-bf599db6b9ec354c68ed5ff4d5701b84 |archive-date=February 17, 2025 |access-date=February 17, 2025 |work=[[Associated Press]] |language=en}}</ref> [[veganism]], transhumanism,<ref name="Oliver-2025">{{Cite news |last=Conroy |first=J. Oliver |date=2025-03-05 |title=They wanted to save us from a dark AI future. Then six people were killed |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global/ng-interactive/2025/mar/05/zizians-artificial-intelligence |access-date=2025-10-19 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> and radical interpretations of rationalist and [[effective altruism]] (EA) principles.<ref name="Ratliff-20253">{{cite magazine |last1=Ratliff |first1=Evan |date=February 21, 2025 |title=The Delirious, Violent, Impossible True Story of the Zizians |url=https://www.wired.com/story/delirious-violent-impossible-true-story-zizians/ |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250226064839/https://www.wired.com/story/delirious-violent-impossible-true-story-zizians/ |archive-date=February 26, 2025 |access-date=February 26, 2025 |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |quote=}}</ref> They identify as "vegan anarchotranshumanists", emphasizing [[animal rights]] and viewing meat consumption as a severe ethical violation, prioritizing the preservation of all sentient life against threats like [[artificial intelligence]] (AI).<ref name="Ratliff-20253" /> Their beliefs are rooted in an extreme interpretation of timeless decision theory, a rationalist alternative to [[causal decision theory]]. They see it as requiring resolute opposition to perceived moral wrongs, such as blackmail or societal norms. This stance has led the Zizians to conflicts with organizations like the [[Machine Intelligence Research Institute]] (MIRI) and the [[Center for Applied Rationality]] (CFAR) over alleged ethical failings, including misuse of donor funds and anti-trans discrimination.<ref name="Ratliff-20253" />

Zizians have unique psychological theories, such as "debucketing", aimed at liberating people from societal constraints to pursue their moral ideals, and the notion that the [[hemispheres of the brain]] can have distinct genders and conflicting interests.<ref name="Brown-2025a" /> They claim to practice [[unihemispheric sleep]] (UHS), a form of [[sleep deprivation]] intended to "jailbreak" the mind, which they believe can enhance their commitment to their cause.<ref name="vox3">{{cite web |last=Romano |first=Aja |date=February 24, 2025 |title=The post-rationalist murder spree's so-called 'cult' leader has finally been arrested. What? |url=https://www.vox.com/culture/400722/zizians-ziz-murders-cult-what-happened |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250606021735/https://www.vox.com/culture/400722/zizians-ziz-murders-cult-what-happened |archive-date=2025-06-06 |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=[[Vox (website)|Vox]]}}</ref> In 2018, a member committed suicide, which an anonymous rationalist alleged was caused by that member attempting UHS.<ref name="Ratliff-20253" /> LaSota later wrote a blog post claiming the member did not perform the practice correctly.<ref name="vox3" /> In a discussion with CFAR co-founder Anna Salamon, LaSota argued in favor of UHS, pointing to the suicide as proof of its effectiveness.<ref name="SFC May 16">{{cite news |last1=Barba |first1=Michael |last2=Cassidy |first2=Megan |last3=Gafni |first3=Matthias |date=May 16, 2025 |title=Before killings linked to cultlike 'Zizians,' a string of psychiatric crises befell AI doomsdayers |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/ziz-rationalism-lasota-pasek-20323332.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250626030023/https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/ziz-rationalism-lasota-pasek-20323332.php |archive-date=2025-06-26 |access-date=26 June 2025 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |language=en}}</ref> Zizians' adherence to "heroic responsibility" and fixation on apocalyptic scenarios, such as [[Roko's basilisk]], drives extreme actions to uphold their moral framework, which they believe mainstream rationalists lack.<ref name="Ratliff-20253" />

The group has been called a [[cult]] or cult-like by publications such as [[The Independent|''The Independent'']],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dodda |first=Io |date=February 19, 2025 |title=Inside the 'Zizians': How a cultish group of radical vegans is now linked to 6 deaths |url=https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/crime/zizian-murders-david-maland-curtis-lind-b2701101.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250619044423/https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/crime/zizian-murders-david-maland-curtis-lind-b2701101.html |archive-date=2025-06-19 |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=[[The Independent]] |language=en-US}}</ref> the [[Associated Press]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 17, 2025 |title=Police arrest apparent leader of Zizian group tied to killing of U.S. border agent near Canada |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/zizian-group-leader-arrest-1.7461231 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250402230802/https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/zizian-group-leader-arrest-1.7461231 |archive-date=2025-04-02 |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]] |agency=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref> ''[[SFGate]]'',<ref name="Chamings Dowd">{{Cite news |first1=Andrew |last1=Chamings |first2=Katie |last2=Dowd |title=A 'death cult' on the run: The Bay Area fringe group terrorizing America |url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/new-details-bay-area-zizians-death-cult-20165754.php |date=February 13, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250222054341/https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/new-details-bay-area-zizians-death-cult-20165754.php |archive-date=February 22, 2025 |access-date=March 1, 2025 |work=[[SFGate]] |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref> and ''[[Reason (magazine)|Reason]]''.<ref name="wolfe-2025">{{cite web |url=https://reason.com/2025/01/31/californias-sorta-rationalist-death-cult/ |title=California's Rationalist-Linked Death Cult |last=Wolfe |first=Liz |date=January 31, 2025 |magazine=[[Reason (magazine)|Reason]] |access-date=August 5, 2025}}</ref> ''[[The Boston Globe]]'' and ''[[The New York Times]]'' have compared the Zizians to the [[Manson Family]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cullen |first=Kevin |date=28 June 2025 |title=Government wants to execute Teresa Youngblut after Vermont shooting that killed border agent, her lawyer says - The Boston Globe |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/06/28/metro/government-execute-teresa-youngblut-vermont/ |access-date=2025-07-08 |website=[[The Boston Globe]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Beam-NYT-2025">{{Cite news |last=Beam |first=Christopher |date=2025-07-06 |title=She Wanted to Save the World From A.I. Then the Killings Started. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/06/business/ziz-lasota-zizians-rationalists.html |access-date=2025-07-08 |work=[[The New York Times]] |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |quote=Ziz’s clique was predominantly transgender or nonbinary, and several worked or interned at tech outfits like Google, Oracle and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.}}</ref> Similarly, Anna Salamon, the director of the [[Center for Applied Rationality]], compared the Zizian belief system to that of a [[doomsday cult]].<ref name="Beam-NYT-2025" />

The Zizians are mostly [[transgender]] or [[non-binary]].<ref name="Hughes2025">{{Cite web |last=Hughes |first=Trevor |title=Who are the Zizians, the cult-like group under FBI investigation? |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/02/19/zizian-cult-like-group-details/79108035007/ |access-date=2025-10-10 |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |language=en-US}}</ref> LaSota's writings include claims that transgender women are cognitively uniquely suited for artificial intelligence safety research.<ref name="Beam-NYT-2025"/>