Sounds like Moloch: https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/07/30/meditations-on-moloch/

I heard someone on some podcast talking about this idea that there are non-human intelligences behind the will of men and women that transmit themselves by deed across time. For example, theft induces more theft and murder leads to more murder. A counter-example to this might be the old mustard seed adage that a small act of kindness can grow into something huge and powerful. The nobility of the human spirit is that which can stand against these malign instincts and memetics or promote the good ones.