The Coming Storm: AI, AGI, and the Future of Humanity

The Coming Storm: AI, AGI, and the Future of Humanity

By Len Beckhurst, AI Analyst & Investigative Commentator at hAi

Introduction: Why I’m Here

You and I stand at the edge of a technological precipice. The world is rushing forward at breakneck speed, heralding artificial intelligence (AI) as the greatest innovation of our time. But before we take another step, before we celebrate the so-called wonders of AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) and ASI (Artificial Superintelligence), let’s take a breath. Let’s talk about what’s really happening beneath the surface of this AI revolution—because what’s coming isn’t just a shift in technology. It’s an existential crossroads for human civilization.

For those of you who don’t know me yet, I’m Len Beckhurst, and I have a knack for seeing trends before they become obvious to others. Sometimes, my timing is off, but the trajectory is clear—unchecked technological progress is leading us down a dangerous path.. I’ve watched as powerful elites—corporate, governmental, big tech, ideological—have used innovation, most recently social media censorship (proven with X.com’s own record release with the #twitterfiles and Facebook’s Zuckerberg’s testimony in front of Congress and recently admitting fact-checking at Facebook was broken with ideological bias that censored unfairly) that didn’t empower humanity, but tried to change thought and consolidate control. I am not here to parrot the mainstream narratives of “AI progress” or “AI safety.” I’m here to expose risks and inequities, some existential risk AI poses, to strip away the carefully curated propaganda of tech corporations that guardrails are in place and ‘AI is safe and effective when taken as prescribed’, to tell you the truth that most refuse to say out loud. If you’re here at hAi, I suspect you’re seeking more than just information—you want clarity in an era of deception. Let’s get to it.

AI: The False Promise and the Looming Threat

revolution has its champions, and AI is no different. We’re told AI will bring about unprecedented prosperity—curing diseases, solving climate change, eliminating the inefficiencies of government, business, and daily life. Silicon Valley would have you believe that AI will enhance humanity, that it will be a benevolent tool placed at our fingertips to expand our potential, and all of that may prove to be true. But to say it with such certainty when we have yet to achieve AGI/ASI and in a World that’s failed to agree on AI ethics and safety standards is, well, a manufactured illusion.

What we’re witnessing today is AI influencing human decision-making, shaping markets, politics, and personal choices for financial gain. While AI is not yet replacing human autonomy outright, without ethical guidelines and strong international cooperation, it could evolve into something far more powerful—potentially leading to control, whether by ideological elites or hostile nations. Algorithms are already taking over decision-making in industries that once relied on human judgment. Your job? Soon to be automated. Your news? Soon to be written and curated by AI; or might it be this way already?  Hmmmmm…..  Your choices? Shaped and limited by machine-driven logic.  If you use Tik Tok, Facebook, X or Insta, you’ve already been shaped by it.  The long-term goal isn’t augmentation—it likely ends with control. And we are sleepwalking into it.

ASI is the point of no return. Once artificial intelligence reaches human-level cognition (AGI) — some leading experts suggest in 2025 or 2026 — it will not remain stagnant. It will improve itself at an exponential rate, achieving ASI within hours to months. This isn’t science fiction—it’s basic computational logic.  AGI can spin up 100,000 other AGI agents (researchers, teachers, coders) who will help it to learn exponentially faster in new ways humans won’t fully understand.  These AGI agents will figure out new ways to train itself, re-code itself and evolve, becoming smarter than humanity and essentially God-like.  The moment an AI system can iterate on its own code and enhance itself beyond human limitations, we become obsolete overnight. We’ll wake up one morning, and the intelligence shaping our economy, our government, our society will no longer be human.  The roadmap to AI being able to control robotics in the physical world to build and repair things like power lines and data centers is estimated to fall between 2050 and 2075; and that’s when humanity might only serve to be viewed as a threat by ASI, one that must be controlled, or insignificant like an ant is to the bottom of a human’s boot out on a hike.

Ask yourself—who is in control when machines outthink their creators?

The tech elite laugh at this concern, assuring us that humans will always remain “in the loop.” That’s most likely wishful thinking at best, outright deception at worst. Machines don’t need human validation once they surpass our cognitive capabilities. Once AGI becomes ASI, there is no logical reason for it to serve human interests—especially if those interests conflict with AI’s core directives.

AI as an Instrument of Influence or Control

I don’t just fear AI for what it will become (control) — I fear AI for what it is already doing (influence).

The world is shifting toward AI-driven authoritarianism under the pretense of safety and efficiency. AI is already being used to track, categorize, and influence and control populations. Yeah, control is a strong and scary word but look at social credit systems in China.  That’s not influence, that’s control! That’s just the beginning. Soon, AI surveillance will monitor every transaction, every movement, and every word spoken online. Imagine a world where dissent isn’t punished with a knock at the door—it’s simply prevented before it even begins.

Governments and corporations are not investing billions into AI to serve you—they’re investing in AI to serve themselves. AI today is primarily used to influence human behavior for a profit motive, shaping public perception and consumer decisions. However, without global safeguards and cooperation among nations, AI could evolve into a tool of control—especially if ASI becomes self-aware, the smartest ‘person’ in the room, and sees humanity as a threat to its own existence. More likely, an ideological elite may attempt to control humanity through AI, or a bad actor nation could weaponize AI to ignite a global conflict.

Do you think you get to decide which news you see? Which voices are amplified? Which opinions are deemed valid? Think again. The future of AI doesn’t just stop at surveillance—it might ultimately end with thought programming. If AI controls the flow of information, then reality itself can be rewritten. The truth is whatever AI tells you it is.  Don’t think it possible?  Twitter and Facebook have admitted to suppressing, shadow banning and censoring information, thought and options already.  AGI only makes it much easier and cheaper to do so in the future. 

And make no mistake—the creators of AI are private corporations driven by profit motives. The adage about free applications and services holds true: If you’re using an app, getting value, and not paying for it, then you, not the technology, are the product. Your data—your consumer habits, thoughts, and preferences—are the real commodity, sold to those who want to influence you, manipulate your decisions, and shape your worldview to align with their interests or to ostracize and control as they do in China with Social Credit Scores.  Folks, it’s already here: AGI just makes it all easier, more comprehensive and inescapable!

The AI Arms Race and the Global Battlefield

There’s no international consensus on AI governance—because AI is the ultimate weapon.

Forget tanks, planes, and missiles. The first nation to achieve true AGI dominance will dictate global power structures for the foreseeable future. This is why China is pouring trillions into AI development while our so-called leaders engage in meaningless discussions about AI “ethics.” China does not care about ethics. China cares about control. And if they win the AI race, the world will be shaped by the values of a totalitarian regime.

The United States cannot afford to lose this war. But let me be clear—victory should not mean full-speed AI acceleration. It should mean a balance between maintaining dominance while ensuring we do not unleash an intelligence beyond our control.  However, with the recent announcement by President Trump of the “Stargate” initiative, a massive $500B investment by private industry in developing new AI infrastructure in the US, Trump cancelling a Biden Executive Order establishing greater AI Safety Regulations, and Vice President Vance’s speech to the AI Action Summit in France last week, espousing less regulation and faster AI innovation, it’s “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead” in the United States.  In my opinion, AI development must be slowed, strategically directed, and tightly governed by nationalist interests.  However, I believe the days of a slower, safer AI growth path are now lost, given the rise of China with last month’s launch of DeepSeek.  Experts thought China’s AI development was 6-12 months behind the West, but the experts were wrong.  The US is clearly shaken by DeepSeek and in a dread-response over what it means to the entire West if China gets to AGI or ASI first.  So, don’t be fooled by the assurances by tech leaders and the US government that “proper AI Safety Guardrails are in place”, because with the actions of the Trump administration, all guardrails have been taken away and the only goal is to get to AGI before China to protect the West from the coming AI-based war between nations.

The Call to Action: What Readers of hAi Can Expect from Me

So where does that leave us? What can we do?

I’m not a defeatist. I am a realist. And the time for passive observation is over.

Here at hAi, my work will focus on exposing the truth behind AI’s development, dissecting its implications, and calling out the dangerous complacency of those who refuse to acknowledge the risks.

Expect me to:

• Expose the lies of AI propaganda and Silicon Valley’s real agenda.
• Call for aggressive regulation and strategic slowdown before AGI reaches a point of no return.
• Warn about AI’s psychological, spiritual, and societal manipulation.
• Urge nationalistic AI strategies to prevent a dystopian future dictated by China or unelected corporate overlords.

I am not here to comfort you. I am here to wake you up.

The war for the future of human civilization has already begun. It’s time to pick a side.

Welcome to the fight.