Cross-posted from the AI Futures Project Substack. This post outlines a concrete scenario for how takeover by an AI company CEO might go, which I developed during MATS with the AI Futures Project. It represents one plausible story among a few that seem roughly equally likely to me. I’m interested in feedback and discussion.

If the future is to hinge on AI, it stands to reason that AI company CEOs are in a good position to usurp power.[1] This didn’t quite happen in our AI 2027 scenarios. In one, the AIs were misaligned and outside any human's control; in the other, the government semi-nationalized AI before the point of no return, and the CEO was only one of several stakeholders in the final oversight committee (to be clear, we view the extreme consolidation of power into that oversight committee as a less-than-desirable component of that ending).

Nevertheless, it seems [...]

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Outline:

(03:50) July 2027: OpenBrain's CEO fears losing control

(07:03) August 2027: The invisible coup

(09:09) Rest of 2027: Government oversight arrives--but too late

(10:51) Early 2028: Eliminating the competition

(13:11) Late 2028: Diffusion and information control

(15:12) Rest of time

(17:58) Endword

The original text contained 12 footnotes which were omitted from this narration.

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First published:
October 23rd, 2025

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/HtW3gNsaLYrSuzmda/how-an-ai-company-ceo-could-quietly-take-over-the-world

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

“How an AI company CEO could quietly take over the world” by Alex Kastner

LessWrong (30+ Karma)

“How an AI company CEO could quietly take over the world” by Alex Kastner