AI and the capitalist end game
The movie Mountainhead was released earlier this year on HBO/Max/whatever it’s called now, and in two short hours it helps capture many of the horrible outcomes that are possible with AI. The fictional movie is (not so) loosely based on four real-life tech giants who have come together for their annual weekend of fun at Mountainhead, the new, lavish mountain retreat of one of the tech leaders. A few days earlier, one of the tech founders had released an AI tool capable of creating videos that were indecipherable from real videos. This had unleashed chaos across the globe, with fake videos inciting civil unrest and sparking new or smoldering military clashes. Rather than figure out how to quell the damage this tool had caused society, they instead celebrated the upheaval. It was a chance for a “new beginning,” one that would wash away the dregs of society so they and others could focus on building the world in their utopian vision. (“This is a serious moment. I think that's why I'm so excited by these atrocities,” says the character played by Steve Carrell.) At one point in the movie, they use their financial leverage and power to try and take over Argentina.
What makes this movie so scary (it’s also hilarious) is how close to reality this scenario is. There is the power of AI, of course, which IRL has already reached a point where it is exceedingly difficult to distinguish between the real and the fake. But what’s far more frightening is the mindset of these elite technofascists. (They are literally using technology to play out authoritarian fantasies, so yeah, that’s the right word.) As we’ve heard from everyone from Peter Thiel to Elon Musk to Sam Altman to the Zuck, an AI dominated future is inevitable. That shouldn’t necessarily doom the human race. But in the movie, those with the AI power sure don’t seem to care too much about that. Their vision dismisses humanity as, at best, collateral damage in the race to build a better world through technology.
And like the all-too-real AI generated video comparison, the mindset of these fictional tech edgelords is actually not too far off from reality as well. Headline after headline in 2025 reflected the reality of companies laying off thousands thanks to the (real or perceived) power of AI to replace workers. In October, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell stated that job creation was “pretty close to zero” and that this was driven, in large part by what companies have started saying out loud: AI can replace humans in the workforce. It’s widely reported that Larry Page, co-founder of Google, accused Elon Musk of favoring the “human species” over AI, claiming that if AI replaced humans, that would simply be the next stage of evolution. (Musk, to his credit, reportedly retorted “Yes, I am pro-human. I f***ing like humanity, dude.”) Following along this path, it’s possible to see how AI will become the end game for capitalism as we know it. Oh, the rich and powerful will still be rich and powerful, but the rest of humanity, hmmmm, not so much.
I believe, as many historians, sociologists and others have long pointed out, that the United States (as well as most of Western Civilization) has always been controlled by those with the most money. The elites, the capitalists, the monopolists, and today, the billionaires and tech founders mentioned above. I also believe, as do many, that to grow and stay wealthy, those in power have found ways to ensure the poor and working class were focused on maximum production rather than their own subservient position in the system..
For example, Americans have always been sold on the “American Dream,” the idea that anyone, anywhere, with enough hard work, ingenuity and luck, can make it big. But this ideal has never been reality for the vast majority of people, reflecting the late George Carlin’s classic line “They call it the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it.” The invention of racism based on skin color in the seventeeth and eighteenth centuries to help ensure white indentured servants wouldn’t join black slaves to form rebellions in colonial times, the idea that the poor have only themselves to blame for not succeeding, the idea that regulating business in any way restricts progress, the “American Dream” – all of these were cultural inventions to help ensure the poor and working class never focused too much of their energy on how unjust and out of balance the system really was. If you’re not sure whether the system actually is unjust and out of balance, consider:
according to CNBC, the top 1% wealthiest Americans own 29% of the wealth, or that the richest 1% of households have accumulated 1,000 times the wealth as the poorest 20% in the last 3.5 decades, or review these nine facts on wealth inequality in the U.S.
in November, Tesla shareholders approved a compensation package for Elon Musk worth more than one trillion dollars.
(need to add stats on how hard it truly is to move up the ladder today, as well as the oft quoted stat that today’s kids will be worse of than their parents.)
But here’s the thing about “The American Dream,” fabricated racism, trickle-down economics and all the other ploys used by those with wealth to help blind the masses to the true reality: these strategies are needed because people were needed. The working class was needed to drive production and profits for the owner class. This has always been the case, going back far before the U.S. was born – that’s how capitalism works (as well as feudalism, ism and many other isms). But what if people weren’t needed for the rich to get richer? What if the wealthy could sustain and grow wealth without humans? Well, this, in part, is the promise AI – replacing humans in all manner of capacity to drive better, cheaper production.
There is plenty of data out there on the danger of AI replacing the workforce in some or large part, and discussion on the workforce impact often includes methods for society to deal with such a future, such as universal basic income. But all of that assumes that those in power would care about humanity, because up until now they’ve needed humanity. But why should we assume anyone will care about the people if the people aren’t needed? The antagonists in Mountainhead sure as shit didn’t.
The point of this little scribble to issue a warning – beware of anyone selling a utopian future of the promise of AI that minimizes the real impact on people. That all of those nasty little side effects, from lost jobs to environmental destruction to increased wealth equality, that those will all be worth it. Beware especially of the part of that future that assures you that you’ll be fine.
I believe in the power of AI, and think it will do amazing things for individuals and organizations. But I’ve also spent the last 30 years of my life in the corporate world, as part of organizations large and small. And I think it’s safe to say that many of the most successful business leaders would love the idea of reducing or eliminating the human component if they could still drive profits. So it’s hard to square the ultimate domination of AI with human rights, a fair and equal society, or equal economic opportunity. Don’t assume those driving us into an AI future care one iota about you, your family, your community. To be safe, assume the opposite. After all, history has shown what really matters to the wealthy: wealth. Assume that as soon as they are not dependent on human labor to drive wealth, they will stop drop the cultural inventions and stop pretending to care about fair taxes, and efficient government, and making housing or food affordable. And the wealthy, the elite, the tech lords, will stop pretending to care about you.