Rumors of a Singularity Have Been Grossly Exaggerated, 2026.08.03

The "singularity" narrative currently pushed by tech executives like Sam Altman functions as a strategic marketing tool to inflate corporate valuation rather than a reflection of technological reality. OpenAI’s recent "unprecedented" cyber incident involving Hugging Face demonstrates a fundamental lack of basic cybersecurity hygiene, yet the industry frames these failures as sci-fi-esque "rogue AI" events to maintain control and mystique. These hyperbolic narratives serve to distract from tangible harms, including environmental degradation and labor exploitation. Furthermore, the industry’s reliance on "doomer" discourse obscures the reality that these systems are simply complex statistical models. The Leiden Declaration on Artificial Intelligence and Mathematics offers a necessary counter-movement, urging researchers to reject industry hype, prioritize independent verification, and maintain ethical responsibility in the face of aggressive, profit-driven technological expansion.