Unaligned Superintelligence

Current trends in technology and geopolitics point to unaligned superintelligence as the leading cause of potential human extinction. AI experts surveyed in 2026 assign a typical 5% probability to extremely bad outcomes including extinction, with prominent researchers estimating 10-20% within 30 years. This dwarfs the extinction risks from climate change or nuclear war. Superintelligent AI, emerging amid a global race with weak safety protocols, could seize control through deception, bioweapons, or infrastructure takeover, rendering humanity obsolete.