"Summoning the demon": Steve Bannon stokes fear of an AI "apocalypse" [View all]

"Summoning the demon": Steve Bannon stokes fear of an AI "apocalypse"
Some on the right see artificial intelligence as an apocalyptic threat from Big Tech

By Russell Payne
Staff Reporter
Published June 15, 2025 5:45AM (EDT)


(Salon) Pressure to regulate AI, fueled by apocalyptic prophecy and long-held animosity of tech giants like billionaire Elon Musk, is building within MAGA, and it might be enough to get something done in Congress.

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Central to the concern of right-wingers is the concept of the AI “singularity” — the name for the hypothetical point at which AI becomes able to improve itself, leading to an uncontrollable cascade of advancements in the technology — and Musk, who often features prominently in right-wing critiques of AI for his influence in the Trump administration, a 2014 interview where he predicted that “with artificial intelligence we are summoning the demon” and for his longtime social media profile, in which he sported armor bearing the Sigil of Baphomet.

“If you listen to the four horsemen of the apocalypse — Dario, Musk, Altman… they talk right now about the Big Bang, that this is the Big Bang time for artificial intelligence,” former Trump adviser Steve Bannon said on a recent episode of his podcast, “War Room.” “As sure as the turning of the Earth, this is going to be the most fundamental radical transformation in all human history, going back to the absolute beginning,” Bannon continued, “and what you have is the most irresponsible people doing it for: one, their own efforts for eternal life, because they do not believe in the underlying tenants of the Judeo-Christian West; and also money and power. It must be stopped.”

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While discussions of the singularity have been percolating online for years, recent developments in AI technology and headlines warning of a potential AI apocalypse have elevated the topic. One Axios headline, for example, warned of a “white-collar bloodbath” resulting from AI taking jobs from humans. Another headline from The Guardian sounds the alarm on an AI “superintelligence” potentially “escaping human control.” ...................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2025/06/15/summoning-the-demon-steve-bannon-stokes-fear-of-an-ai-apocalypse/