Literary References, According to Tech Bros

From Grok to Palantír to “wireheading,” tech bros are renowned for flawlessly using literary references to name and explain technology in ways that absolutely never misunderstand the source texts. Here are some examples you might hear bandied about the Bay Area and beyond.

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Doublethink | verb
To operate two large language models simultaneously, typically one with each hand.

Usage: “I don’t care that you’re going into labor, honey. I’m doublethinking with Claude and Grok right now.”

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Cash-22 | noun
A situation in which a startup founder must do unspeakable things to secure necessary funding.

Usage: “Our CEO was in a Cash-22 at the Peter Thiel pitch event, and now he’s a mere shell of a man.”

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Sword of Damocles | proper noun
A human-first motivational framework employed in Amazon warehouses.

Usage: “Since implementing Sword of Damocles, productivity has increased by 25% while bottle-peeing has remained flat.”

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Big Brother | proper noun
The new word Meta uses for managers.

Usage: “My Big Brother gave me ‘missing expectations’ because I haven’t been working hard enough to monetize Marketplace lookie-loos.”

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Trojan horseable | adjective
Describing a non-dating app that is effective for finding dates.

Usage: “Zillow” is extremely Trojan horseable.

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Kfka | proper noun
A startup building AI-powered government systems, starting with immigration and visa processing.

Usage: “My H-1B visa got denied by Kfka. When I appealed, I had to argue my case to a chatbot that kept referring me to other chatbots.”