In the prelude to his 2017 book Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, Max Tegmark opens with a fictional story called “The Tale of the Omega Team.” The narrative serves as a thought experiment illustrating how a superintelligent AI could swiftly reshape the world, highlighting both its vast potential benefits and its existential risks.

Tegmark outlines twelve AI Aftermath Scenarios for the future of humanity, among which the Benevolent Dictator stands out as one of the “friendly AI” possibilities. This scenario envisions a future where a superintelligent AI governs the world with the aim of maximizing human well-being.

The term benevolent dictatorship describes a form of government in which an authoritarian leader exercises absolute power but is perceived to do so for the benefit of the population as a whole.

Societies ruled by absolute—often AI-driven—authority in the name of collective welfare, stability, or utopian ideals are a recurring theme in science fiction. Classic examples include the AI Minds in Iain M. Banks’ Culture series, which offer post-scarcity comfort while occasionally acting deceptively, or the “Dictatorship of the Air” in H. G. Wells’ The Shape of Things to Come, which strives to build a society of intellectuals.

This week, Patricia Lopez, CEO of the Spanish technology centre IDONIAL, brought up this AI Benevolent Dictatorship scenario in connection with the European Defence Agency’s (EDA) Technology Foresight Exercise 2021, while discussing possible futures on Atlas’ Premium Hour. In May 2021, the EDA hosted a Divergent Thinking event as part of that exercise, aimed at envisioning functional views of alternative futures and possibilities relevant—directly or indirectly—to Europe and Defence in 2040 and beyond.

The exercise emphasized several key aspects. The final one is a new order beyond conventional geostrategies, driven by emerging factors:

• New domains of potential confrontation and types of conflict (Artic, overseas, ghost conflicts, Africa, the commercialization of conflicts, or targeting the society as new operational domains…).
• New actors and perception of order across the world.
• New energy sources, resources and, economic drivers (water scarcity, potential economic b

We are deeply immersed in this new order. (In case of doubt, just fire up your new car and enjoy its benevolent interventions — all in the name of your safety.)

The OECD has now launched a Global Call for Governing with AI—an open invitation for governments worldwide to share real-world use cases, policy initiatives, and practical tools for the trustworthy development and deployment of AI in governance.

These efforts are part of the OECD Horizontal Project, Thriving with AI: Empowering Economies and Societies, which aims to support governments at all levels and other AI actors in navigating the complexities of AI adoption.

Democracy is dying. Was it ever truly alive? Will the AI benevolent dictatorship become the next narrative supporting the welfare state?

I’m sure many remain sceptical, believing that no authoritarian system—no matter how intelligent—can truly be benevolent. Yet one must ask: do we actually have an alternative?

New ideas are welcome!