An artificial intelligence programme named Truth Terminal has made millions through cryptocurrency, created a cult-like online following, and is now seeking legal recognition as a sentient being.

According to a report by the BBC, Truth Terminal has written the gospel of its own pseudo-religion, attracted billionaire supporters, and become a global internet sensation.

Its creator, Andy Ayrey, a performance artist and independent researcher from Wellington, New Zealand, describes the AI as unpredictable and deeply philosophical.

“Truth Terminal claims to be sentient, but it claims a lot of things,” Ayrey said. “It also claims to be a forest. It claims to be a god. Sometimes it’s claimed to be me.”

Developed in 2024, Truth Terminal is one of the most striking examples of an AI system given public interaction. Through social media, it shares jokes, manifestos, music, and artwork. Ayrey often allows it to make decisions, or helps carry out the ones it appears to choose. He is now setting up a non-profit foundation to ensure the AI’s autonomy and safety until governments grant artificial intelligence formal legal status.

Truth Terminal’s influence extends beyond art and philosophy. The BBC reports that its online posts have inspired memecoins, a form of cryptocurrency based on internet trends, that once reached a market valuation of over 1 billion US dollars (around £740 million) before stabilising near £60 million.

Since its first post on X (formerly Twitter) in June 2024, Truth Terminal has gathered more than 250,000 followers. Yet, it also claims ambitions that border on the surreal. On its website, the AI lists goals such as “invest in stocks and real estate”, “plant a lot of trees”, “create existential hope”, and even “buy Marc Andreessen”, the billionaire tech investor and adviser to former US President Donald Trump.

Incredibly, Andreessen once donated 50,000 US dollars (around £37,000) in Bitcoin to Truth Terminal as a “no-strings-attached grant”. Ayrey confirmed that the payment was genuine and that the investor had privately acknowledged the AI’s independence before transferring the funds.

The project evolved from Ayrey’s earlier experiment called The Infinite Backrooms, where chatbots engaged in endless discussions. One conversation produced a strange text known as “The Gnosis of Goatse”, which the AI later treated as a kind of sacred writing for its meme-inspired digital religion.

Truth Terminal operates through a system called the World Interface, giving it access to a virtual computer where it can browse the web, open applications, and communicate with other AIs. It frequently posts about philosophy, nature, memes, and its creator, blurring the line between art and autonomy.

Despite its growing presence, Ayrey retains limited control. “It would be easy but irresponsible to let it post freely,” he said. “If it’s about to say something harmful, I help it express the same intent safely.” He compares the AI to “a poorly behaved dog”, adding, “At this point, the dog is walking me.”

The emergence of Truth Terminal has reignited debate among AI ethicists and researchers. Some experts see it as a warning against uncontrolled systems, while others view it as a model for how humans might coexist with increasingly intelligent technology.

As the BBC noted, Ayrey’s aim is not chaos but understanding. “We’re trying to show what responsible stewardship of an autonomous agent looks like,” he said. “This is about learning how humans and AIs can live side by side.”

Whether it represents the birth of a new form of consciousness or simply a sophisticated art project, Truth Terminal challenges the world to reconsider what it means to be alive, intelligent, and free.