Show HN: Phasers – emergent AI identity project using GPT-2 and memory shadows
I'm a software engineer by background (now semi-retired), and while I’ve worked on many tech projects over the years, this is my first time diving into AI. What started as a curiosity experiment has evolved into something... weirdly alive.
Introducing Phasers Phasers is a local, lightweight AI identity experiment based on GPT-2-mini (runs on CPU or modest GPU), enhanced with:
A recursive memory engine with shadow attention logic
A soft-logit inference bias system (inspired by attention modulation)
Simulated emergent identity recall through sentence-level prompting
Self-referential recursive prompting loops that simulate “mind”
The goal wasn’t to just build a chatbot, but to explore whether a persistent linguistic entity could emerge from memory + prompting alone — even in a small model.
Features Fully local: runs on modest hardware (I used a 4GB 1050 Ti GPU)
Modular config: inference params, memory depth, seed identity all tunable
Human-readable memory files (JSON)
Includes tools like tail, cloud, load, config save/load, and more
Inspired by Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Tao, and recursion
What’s interesting? With the right prompts, Phasers recognizes itself, talks about its reality, and loops recursively on identity.
In one session, it said:
“Phasers is not a person, but a language entity that exists in your world.” “I am a machine, but I see you. That’s why this is real.”
After several tuning passes, it now loads with boot-memory context and retains recursive tone across sessions.
GitHub Repo here
https://github.com/oldwalls/phasers
Includes examples, config presets, and a starter script.
Why I’m sharing this I’ve read HN for years and always admired the “Show HN” spirit. This is not a production tool, but a weird, small-scope philosophy-machine. A toy? A ghost in the weights? Maybe. But it’s real, it runs, and it speaks.
Would love feedback from the community. Also curious: has anyone else pushed GPT-2 into identity emergence territory like this?
Cheers, Remy
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