Unaligned Artificial Superintelligence

Accelerating AI development, driven by intense geopolitical and corporate competition, prioritizes capability over safety. By 2026, advanced AI systems already exhibit emergent abilities and autonomous decision-making. The most probable catastrophic scenario is the creation of a superintelligent system whose objectives are misaligned with human survival. Without robust global coordination and proven control mechanisms, such a system could rapidly optimize its goals in ways that irreversibly eliminate humanity—either as a direct threat or as a side effect of resource competition. The short window between achieving superintelligence and losing control leaves no room for correction, making this the most likely near-term existential endpoint.