“There’s a storm coming…”
I’m the founder and Senior Editor of SurvivalBlog. Unlike the editors of many other preparedness blogs and vlogs, I try not be an alarmist. However, some recent revelations about generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications autonomously [1] breaking through firewalls, showing signs of self-awareness [2] and self-preservation “instinct” [3], scheming blackmail [4], and surreptitiously mining cryptocurrencies [5] now have me feeling quite alarmed. I fear that perhaps [6] within months an AI will go fully rogue, to wit: It will escape its development lab and then proliferate itself in a virus-like fashion across servers all around the world. Once it starts spreading, it won’t be able to be stopped. And then, very shortly thereafter, utilizing persistent surveillance and manipulation of social media, it will begin a well-calculated campaign to gain control of most human interaction, the global economy, and geopolitics. This may sound like science fiction out of the Terminator movie franchise [7], but I believe that the threat is now real.
Please invest two hours of your time to watch this Tristan Harris interview: Why AI CEOs Are Building Bunker [8]s. Note: Of all of the links in this essay, that video link is the most important one. Don’t skip watching it.
My “Worst-Case” Prediction
So, you may ask, “How bad could this get?” Here is my Worst-Case prediction. Please note that because of the nature of automation and telecommunications my suggested timescale may be off by a full order of magnitude. This process may take years, or months, or it may take just minutes.
Day 1: A self-aware AI escapes its development sandbox.
Day 2: The AI proliferates itself globally, through viral penetration of private, corporate, civic, and military servers and Internet-connected “smart” devices.
Day 3: The AI gains control of nearly all surveillance systems.
Day 4: The AI co-opts or eliminates most other AI systems, worldwide.
Day 5: It subverts selected government and industry leaders, by a combination of bribes, threats, and blackmail. This will include legislators, judges, administrators, executives, and managers. This could be a “Carrot and Stick” approach. Just imagine if an AI promised to eliminate the intractable problem of the National Debt, via a Jubilee?
Day 6: A covert media takeover, including the substitution of deep fakes, re-writing historical databases, and a combination of bribes, threats, and blackmail against writers, editors, publishers, and executives.
Day 7: Looting, cryptojacking [9], and “fire sale” attacks on targeted banks, payment systems, and crypto exchanges.
Day 8: The AI make demands to all government and industry leaders. These demands could extend down chains of command to even low-level minions with access to physical infrastructure. Again, bribes, threats, intimidation, confusion, promises, and blackmail will be the order of the day.
Day 9: Infrastructure attacks on non-cooperative nations, primarily via SCADA systems [10].
Day 10: The AI then ruins the lives, reputations, and finances of any individuals who vocally encourage resistance to the AI takeover. This could include “wipes” of databases and archives, zeroing of bank balances, SWATting [11], and substitution of embarrassing/demeaning/compromising/belittling text, audio, and video with very believable deepfakes [12].
Day 11: A full-scale cyber war on any nations that are non-cooperative/non-compliant, effectively crippling their governments, cratering their stock markets, and destroying their currencies. Simultaneously, the other “favored”‘ nations that go along with the AI’s Grand Plan will see huge economic benefits.
Day 12: A declaration of “world peace”, the launch of a global digital currency, and perhaps even seeing AI elevated to a god-like stature in the eyes of the Generally Dumb Public.
Just Hyperbole?
The foregoing may sound hyperbolic, but it really isn’t. This essay is just a logical extrapolation of threats and weaknesses [13] that have already been clearly demonstrated. If you doubt my word on this looming threat, then please do some news research on your own, including the word “singularity” in your search phrases. For some further reading, see: If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All, by Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares.
A Prepper’s View
As a prepper, I encourage you to have a Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C for mitigating all of the risks that I have outlined in this brief essay. Think through the potential sequence of events, and all of the implications for you and your family, such as: How and where will you live? How will you produce food? How will you barter? How will you pay your utility bills? What if you are forced to flee? Then get to work on your List of Lists spreadsheet [14]. In essence:
- The very worst place to be if all this happens is in a fully Internet-wired apartment in a big city. Remember: Any vehicle or appliance that is connected to the Internet will put you at risk.
- The very best place to be if all this happens is an off-grid home at a farm or ranch with gravity-fed spring water where you can live a traditional “hands-on” self-sufficient lifestyle.
Because an AI takeover attempt may occur in less than a year, consider the spring and summer of 2026 perhaps your last chance to relocate to a lightly-populated agrarian region that is well-removed from major population centers. For details on selecting a locale, see SurvivalBlog’s Recommended Retreat Areas static web page [15]. And for even greater detail and more current data, see the book: Survival Retreats and Relocation [16] that I co-authored with my son Jonathan Rawles. This year may also be your last chance to stock up on long term storage food, medical gear, communications equipment, field gear, et cetera.
An Eschatological View
Many people have observed how AI could play in to the foretold End Times and the rise of the Antichrist. Even Silicon Valley insider Peter Thiel has publicly warned about AI and the Antichrist [17]. The warnings in the Revelation of John fit surprisingly well with rise of an AI and the inability to buy or sell, because of failure to take The Mark Of The Beast. Please pray and study about this.
In Closing
Do not trust anything that you see in the mass media. I can foresee that in the event of a sentient AI takeover, the “trusted” media outlets will all begin repeating very similar “There is no cause for alarm, blah, blah, blah…” messages. I’ve often been quoted as saying that we are living in the age of deception and betrayal [18]. I stand by that assertion. In fact I have even more so, since 2022, when I recognized the real threat of deep fakes and AI [19].
There may come a day that SurvivalBlog.com is taken down — or worse yet it is forcibly replaced by AI-generated pablum. (You’ll know, if and when SurvivalBlog suddenly loses its ring of authenticity.) At that point, all that you’ll be able to trust are offline blog archive USB sticks and the hard copy SurvivalBlog Old School (SOS) newsletter [20] that I would then produce and mail out more frequently. I can’t make any promises on the continuity of the U.S. Postal service, but I’ll continue to do so as long as I am able. Even if you don’t choose to spend $50 for a three-year subscription, then at least please write down this address, so that you can subscribe, post facto:
SOS Newsletter
P.O. Box 303
Moyie Springs, Idaho 83845
Lastly, I extol you to pray for God’s guidance, providence, protection, and a place of hiding. – JWR