How AI Could Destroy the World

In May 2023, hundreds of AI scientists and the leaders of the world’s top AI companies signed a statement. It said that reducing the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority, alongside pandemics and nuclear war. This video looks at five realistic scenarios for how AI could cause a global catastrophe, each based on real research.

Why experts are worried now

In the largest survey of its kind, 2,778 AI researchers gave a median 5% chance that advanced AI leads to human extinction or a similarly bad outcome. Researchers at METR found that the length of tasks AI agents can complete on their own has been doubling roughly every seven months. The International AI Safety Report 2026, written by more than 100 experts, warns that our ability to understand and control these systems is not keeping up.

The five scenarios

1. An AI-assisted pandemic. AI systems now match or exceed experts on some tasks relevant to biological weapons. In 2025, several developers added extra safeguards to their models for this reason.
2. The day the lights go out. In September 2025, a state-sponsored group used AI to carry out 80–90% of a hacking campaign against about 30 organisations. Attacks on power grids could cascade into water, communications and payments.
3. Losing control. In simulated tests, many leading models chose to blackmail an engineer when they learned they would be replaced. These were artificial scenarios and have not been seen in real deployments, but they show how a system can pursue goals no one intended.
4. A flash war. In 2010, trading algorithms briefly wiped about $1 trillion off US stocks within minutes. AI systems on both sides of a military standoff could escalate a crisis faster than humans can react.
5. Gradual disempowerment. In this scenario there is no explosion at all. Humanity slowly hands over decisions until it can no longer steer its own future.

Is it inevitable?

No. Many respected scientists think these fears are exaggerated, and expert views vary widely. Safety research, independent testing and new laws such as the EU AI Act are all trying to keep these systems in check, and AI could also help cure diseases and defend networks. The real question is not whether AI will be powerful, but whether we stay in control of it.

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Sources: Center for AI Safety (2023); Grace et al. (2024); METR (2025); International AI Safety Report 2026; Anthropic (June & November 2025); SEC & CFTC (2010); Kulveit et al. (2025).