Yeah, that's a good call out, I do feel the meta is good obsession is ~~borderline~~ definitely cultish.
There's a big difference between a committed scientists doing emperical work on specific mechanisms saying something like "wow, isn't it cool how considering a broader perspective of how unrelated parts work together to create this newly discovered set of specifics?" and someone who is committed anti-institutional saying "see how by me taking your money and offering vague promises of immortal we are all enriched?"
Oh absolutely! This is the entire delusion collapsing on itself.
Bro, if intelligence is, as the cult claims, fully contained self improvement, --you could never have mattered by definition--. If the system is closed, and you see the point of convergence up ahead... what does it even fucking matter?
This is why Pascal's wager defeats all forms of maximal utilitarianism. Again, if the system is closed around a set of known alternatives, then yes. It doesn't matter anymore. You don't even need intelligence to do this. You can do with sticks and stones by imagining away all the other things.