“it wasn't part of my algo to check if someone being intro'd to me was a registered sex offender..”
That’s a crazy defense
In case you're curious...here's everything I remember unfiltered.
I think maybe he was wearing a blue shirt. I don’t remember anyone else being with him.
He was doing work at MIT, neuroscience-adjacent stuff, and he knew getting brain data access was a core limitation (which is the exact problem I was working on at Kernel). There was an obvious incentive for him to pursue a connection with me and at the end of the call he wanted to stay in touch. Instead, the moment the call ended, it was an immediate no. A hard, instinctive 'fuck no'. I was genuinely relieved when the call ended.
Typically I wouldn't say something like this publicly because I usually only stick to measurable science...but he is legitimately the most intuitively 'evil' person I had (or have) ever met. It was the strongest negative feeling I’ve ever had about another person. It was visceral.
We were on the phone for maybe ten minutes, and he spoke for 8 maybe 9 of them. He just talked at me. Rammed his thoughts, his plans, his accomplishments, who he knew, what he wanted. Everything felt off. I remember the call dragging on. Most of what he talked about was flexing connections, scientists, money donated...MIT, Harvard.
That’s the thing, it wasn't part of my algo to check if someone being intro'd to me was a registered sex offender...
He also wasn’t presented as some obvious outcast. He was wrapped in credibility, positioned by others as relevant and important. Epstein wasn’t some fringe guy who showed up randomly. He was embedded in institutional credibility. It turns out even after he was a convicted sex offender, MIT and Harvard were still engaging with him. He was always surrounded by people who made him seem legitimate.
That interaction was the first and last time I interacted with him. I feel you all. It's terrifying.