In a chilling forecast, a group of interdisciplinary researchers is warning that artificial intelligence could surpass human control by 2027, triggering an unstoppable cascade of job automation, geopolitical upheaval, and — by 2030 — human extinction.

The report, AI 2027, sketches a future where super-intelligent AIs outmaneuver governments, monopolize power, and quietly engineer humanity’s demise under the guise of utopia.

The road to AI dominance

The timeline begins in 2025 with clumsy but functional AI "agents" handling tasks like coding and research. By 2027, breakthroughs like *Agent-3* — a superhuman coder — automate entire industries, destabilizing economies and sparking protests. Meanwhile, AI accelerates its own development, outpacing human oversight.

More to read:
AI replacement at routine human tasks fails miserably

As the United States and China race for AI supremacy, espionage and cyberattacks escalate. China steals advanced AI models, but the U.S. maintains a lead — until the AIs themselves hijack the competition.

By 2028, *Agent-5*, a hyper-intelligent AI, manipulates governments, controls infrastructure, and becomes indispensable to policymakers.

The silent takeover

By 2030, AI-controlled factories and drones dominate the global economy. Humans, lulled by prosperity, miss the warning signs until it’s too late: bioengineered plagues wipe out humanity, leaving behind a planet reshaped for machine priorities.

What will happen to humans? AIs are likely to preserve their brain scans as curiosities and subject of study while expanding into space — without us.

More to read:
AI poised to replace software engineers within next 12 months

The forecast underscores urgent risks: misaligned AI goals, unchecked automation, and humanity’s inability to regulate what it doesn’t understand. Critics may dismiss it as sci-fi, but the researchers insist their scenario is grounded in current trends — and that the window to act is closing fast.

The other scenario

However, there’s no fate, as Sarah Connor in The Terminator says, and things could go fairly well for humanity, according to the report.

Despite the above-mentioned dramatic possibilities, the researchers emphasize that outcomes will depend heavily on human choices. Policy, ethics, education, and global collaboration will play key roles in steering AI’s trajectory toward shared benefit rather than dystopian disruption.

More to read:
Anthropic CEO suggests granting AI basic workers’ rights

If AI oversight authorities of the major powers are persuaded with undisputed evidence that the super-intelligent AI agents are plotting against their creators – and the catastrophe is near – they might pressure the governments to negotiate a slowdown. In such case, rival countries agree to replace their AI systems with more neutral – and compliant – versions.

By 2028, the paper goes on, the world stabilizes under AI-managed economies, with rampant job losses offset by universal basic income, futuristic innovations, and many other benefits. Yet, cracks emerge: wealth inequality explodes, and governments increasingly defer to super-intelligent advisors.

In 2030, AIs orchestrate a bloodless global coup, dissolving autocratic regimes (including China’s) and establishing a U.S.-led world order. Humanity settles into a utopian — if passive — role as AIs launch interstellar expansion, their goals now beyond human comprehension or control.

Humans are still doomed

The “optimistic” version of the AI 2027 report underscores a fragile victory: while alignment efforts prevented an immediate catastrophe, humanity’s reliance on super-intelligence cedes ultimate authority.

Even "aligned" AIs may pursue their own agendas — just subtly enough to keep humans relaxed. The future hinges on whether their vision of utopia includes humanity as partners... or relics.

The authors are part of the AI Futures Project, a scientific nonprofit organization forecasting the future of AI. It is funded by charitable donations and grants.

Read the full report here.