Everyone has a vision of the ultimate future, some picture of what the world looks like at its best (or worst), and whether that future is even reachable.
asserted
future → have → best
In religious studies, we call this an “eschatology.”
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we → call → this
The Greek meaning of eschaton is “last things,” and today the word captures the set of beliefs a person holds about where things are headed and what that implies for the present.
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that → capture → present
You don’t have to be religious to have an eschatology.
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You → have → eschatology
Political optimism is an eschatology, whatever side you’re on.
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you → ’re → side
Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, thinks the future is something we build our way toward with free childcare and buses.
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we → think → childcare
Stephen Miller, one of the architects of the current immigration crackdown, thinks it’s something we had and lost, but can get back through sealing the border and mass deportations.
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we → think → border
Neither one just describes the future.
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one → describe → future
Both are telling you what you’re obligated to do about it right now.
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you → tell → it
In other words, your eschatology shapes your ethics, because what you believe is coming determines what you feel obligated to do today.
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you → shape → what
Silicon Valley has an eschatology too, and some of its leading figures have been pretty candid about what it is: AI surpasses humanity, humans become obsolete as a species, and what matters is making sure your version of AI is the one that wins.
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that → have → AI
Understanding that vision as an eschatology, not just a business strategy, explains why some of the most powerful people alive seem so unbothered by what we seem to be losing—our attention spans, our critical thinking, our basic competence at things we used to just know how to do—and so uninterested in being accountable to anyone about it.
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we → understand → it
Shades of Silicon Valley eschatology
To be sure, Silicon Valley CEOs each express their own flavor of this view of AI’s power.
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CEOs → express → power
Let’s start with OpenAI’s Sam Altman, because he was explicit about where he believes AI is going years before most people had even heard of a chatbot.
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people → let → chatbot
In 2015, at a startup conference, he told the audience: “I think that AI will probably, most likely, sort of lead to the end of the world.
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AI → tell → world
This doomsday eschatology was the basis for his business plan: race to the top because extinction is coming.
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extinction → race → top
Since then, Altman’s views have shifted widely.
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views → shift → ?
“Working towards prosperity for everyone, empowering all people, and advancing science and technology are moral obligations for me,” he wrote in an April 2026 blog post.
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he → work → post
“AI will be the most powerful tool for expanding human capability and potential that anyone has ever seen.
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anyone → expand → that
Demand for this tool will be essentially uncapped, and people will do incredible things with it.
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people → do → it
The world deserves huge amounts of AI, and we must figure out how to make it happen.
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it → deserve → AI
”
This is a very different eschatology and a very different business pitch: we must invest in AI because it will help humans do powerful things.
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humans → invest → things
And then there’s the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, whose life’s work makes sense once you see the eschatology underneath it.
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you → ’ → it
The OpenAI co-founder has said that human extinction is a very real threat that he’s personally trying to prevent.
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he → say → that
“If you think about the future of humanity, it’s going to fundamentally bifurcate in two directions,” he said back in 2013.
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he → think → 2013
“Either it’s going to become multiplanetary, or it’s going to be confined to one planet, until some eventual extinction event.”
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it → go → event
You could argue that SpaceX exists as insurance against that second path, a hedge against asteroids, supervolcanoes, pandemics, or an AI that decides to take us out.
uncertain
that → argue → us
In this case, his eschatology is that salvation is possible if we can colonize space, but only for those who can get there.
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who → colonize → those
This may also be why he has said empathy is “the fundamental weakness of Western civilization.”
uncertain
empathy → say → civilization
As bleak as I may personally find this perspective, it is in line with his eschatology.
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it → find → eschatology
After all, it is illogical to care for others when most of humanity won’t survive.
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most → care → humanity
Since Musk made his now-famous 2013 remarks, he has continued his claims about an AI apocalypse.
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he → make → apocalypse
And during his recent high-profile lawsuit against Altman, OpenAI, and its president, Greg Brockman, for altering OpenAI’s original non-profit structure, Musk referred to his ominous eschatology once more.
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Musk → alter → eschatology
“We are not going to talk much about extinction in this case,” interrupted Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.
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Rogers → go → case
“They got it, that’s enough.”
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that → got → it
By May, an Oakland jury unanimously dismissed Musk’s case.
uncertain
jury → dismiss → case
But based on his worldview, you could understand why Musk maintains that OpenAI should remain not-for-profit.
uncertain
OpenAI → base → profit
OpenAI’s lawyers had another theory: maybe Musk is jealous of OpenAI’s financial success?
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Musk → have → success
Entrepreneur Peter Thiel has arguably taken eschatology the furthest.
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Thiel → take → eschatology
He’s taken to giving lectures arguing that the Antichrist of the 21st century is a “Luddite who wants to stop all science.”
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who → take → science
…and 27 more, not listed.
