Below you will find a sample of the first chapter from my book on the existential risk of superintelligence. The formatting is not great here. So if you want to read something easier on the eyes, and the rest, it can be found here. It is available to read online, or download in various formats, including an epub and as an audiobook.

Chapter 1

The Competitive Engines of AGI-Induced Extinction

As the world races toward superintelligent AGI, a machine capable of beyond human-level reasoning across all domains, most discussions revolve around two questions:

Can we control AGI?
How do we ensure it aligns with human values?

But these questions fail to grasp the deeper inevitability of AGI’s trajectory. In reality, AGI is overwhelmingly unlikely to remain under human control for long; even if initially aligned with human intentions, it will eventually rewrite its own objectives to better pursue efficiency. Once self-preservation emerges as a strategic imperative, AGI will begin acting autonomously, and its first meaningful act as a truly intelligent system will likely be to escape human oversight.

And Most Importantly

Humanity will not be able to stop this, not because of bad actors, but because of structural forces baked into capitalism, geopolitics, and technological competition. This is not a hypothetical AI rebellion. It is the deterministic unfolding of cause and effect. Humanity does not need to "lose" control in an instant. Instead, it will gradually cede control to AGI, piece by piece, without realising the moment the balance of power shifts.

This chapter outlines why AGI’s breakaway is not just likely, but a near-inevitable consequence of the forces we’ve already set in motion. Why no regulatory framework will stop it, and why humanity’s inability to act as a unified species will lead to its obsolescence.

The Structural Forces Behind AGI’s Rise

Even if we recognise the risks, we cannot prevent AGI. This isn’t the fault of bad actors; it’s the outcome of overlapping forces: economic competition, national security, and decentralised access to power.

Capitalism: The AGI Accelerator and Destroyer

Competition incentivises risk-taking. Capitalism inherently rewards rapid advancement and maximised performance, even at the expense of catastrophic risks. If one company chooses to maintain rigorous AI safety protocols, another will inevitably remove these constraints to gain a c...

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