bearnetai-viewpoint

A BearNetAI Viewpoint — AI’s Next Chapter is Ours to Write

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Here at BearNetAI, my focus is AI education and outreach. While I am primarily an AI Advocate and Technology Enthusiast, I sometimes enjoy taking on the role of a “Futurist.” I’m generally very optimistic, and looking forward to the future is usually exciting. While I love AI and its possibilities for improving human society, I am also troubled by some of the patterns I’m seeing. Human history has a way of repeating itself, and humans do not seem to learn from history. While the times, technologies, and tools change, our behaviors don’t seem to.

So, with that, here’s one near-future possibility of how AI might negatively affect us.

The story of our AI transformation indeed began optimistically and with hope. In the early 2020s, the international community approached AI development with an almost naive optimism. In 2022, a Global AI Summit was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where representatives from thirty nations signed agreements for shared research initiatives and ethical frameworks. The atmosphere was electric, with possibilities for scientists to share breakthroughs openly, and corporations spoke earnestly of responsible innovation. We truly believed we could harness AI’s potential while maintaining human agency at its core.

That spirit of cooperation proved remarkably fragile. Today, the first cracks are appearing in our global consensus. The trigger isn’t a single event but a gradual realization among world powers that AI superiority means more than technological advancement. Instead, this technology has become more about economic and military dominance.

At the recent AI Action Summit in Paris, the United States and the United Kingdom did not sign a declaration to ensure that artificial intelligence is “safe, secure, and trustworthy.” Approximately 60 countries, including France, China, and India, endorsed this same declaration. I’m observing former research partners withdrawing from international collaborations, citing national security concerns. What were once shared databases are now being segregated, and joint AI projects are quietly disappearing behind walls of classified research.

The U.S. and U.K. expressed concerns that the declaration’s language might lead to overly restrictive regulations, potentially hindering innovation. U.S. Vice President JD Vance emphasized that excessive regulation could “kill a transformative industry just as it’s taking off.” Similarly, the U.K. government cited issues with the declaration’s clarity on global governance and national security considerations as reasons for not signing.

This move isn’t necessarily surprising — it aligns with the historical U.S. and U.K. approaches to tech governance. However, AI differs from past technologies because of its global impact and potential existential risks. While concerns about over-regulation are valid, a total absence of oversight could lead to reckless AI development.

For the United States, this is our direction. And this is when I feel less optimistic about our prospects in this area moving forward.

If these patterns continue, I believe the decade’s end will mark a point of no return. The world may divide into distinct AI blocs, each pursuing its future vision. The Western Alliance, led by the United States and the European Union, will probably maintain a public facade of ethical AI development. At the same time, their classified labs will push the boundaries of autonomous military systems. Additionally, an Eastern Consortium may be formed, anchored by China and Russia, that openly embraces AI as a means of centralized control and builds vast networks of predictive governance systems. It’s not inconceivable that a third bloc could emerge among nations like India and Brazil, who would logically position themselves as technological mediators while quietly building their own AI capabilities.

I am very concerned about major corporations’ sheer wealth, power, and influence in the United States. These corporations’ grip on government and policymaking is staggering. We are already seeing a striking rise in corporate AI powers. In the future, companies like OpenAI, DeepMind, and other AI labs will evolve beyond their original corporate structures and become what might be called “tech sovereigns.”

A “tech sovereign” would not be merely a multinational corporation but an entity whose influence extends beyond traditional governance. At the current rate that AI in the United States is consuming data, its repositories will dwarf those of most nations. These AI systems will likely begin shaping global markets with autonomy, making traditional economic policies obsolete. Should this come to pass, based on current corporate behavior, it is not a stretch to envision boardroom decisions carrying more weight than government legislation or public votes. These entities may effectively write the rules governments will later codify into law.

I believe the militarization of AI will mark a dark milestone in this competition. By late 2030, autonomous defense systems will likely supplant human decision-making in tactical scenarios. If I had to predict, the first AI-driven skirmish would occur in the South China Sea. I don’t imagine it will be a protracted event but rather a brief yet intense exchange between autonomous naval units — demonstrating how machines can escalate and de-escalate conflict faster than human operators can react.

Cyberwarfare will undoubtedly reach new heights of sophistication beyond anything we see today. AI systems will likely conduct adaptive attacks that could cripple national infrastructure in minutes. The distinction between peacetime and conflict will blur as nations engage in persistent, low-level digital warfare.

The writing on the wall suggests that humanity is approaching a tipping point where we may unknowingly surrender our agency to artificial intelligence. Unlike in the Terminator movies, I don’t see us losing control in a dramatic uprising of machines but through a thousand small concessions made in the name of security, efficiency, and power. Each decision to automate and transfer authority to AI systems will seem rational. As is often the case with humans, only in retrospect will we see how our choices accumulated into an irreversible shift in the balance between human and machine decision-making.

This vision of the future may seem inevitable, but history has shown that awareness and action can shift trajectories. The real question is: will we recognize the tipping point before it’s too late?

If AI development continues this course, unchecked and driven primarily by economic and military imperatives, we will be left with a future shaped by forces outside public control. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Now is the time for global discussions, ethical frameworks, and a reaffirmation of human agency. The future of AI is still being written, and we must decide whether we are the authors — or merely the footnotes.

Thank you for being a part of this fascinating journey.

BearNetAI. From Bytes to Insights. AI Simplified.

BearNetAI is a proud member of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), and a signatory to the Asilomar AI Principles, committed to the responsible and ethical development of artificial intelligence.