Guillaume Verdon argues that AI doomerism is often a deliberate weaponization of public anxiety. He believes certain actors use fear-mongering to justify seizing control over AI development, convincing the public they shouldn't have access to powerful models for their own good, thereby creating a dangerous cognitive gap.

Political movements often require a central catastrophic narrative to justify wide-ranging regulation. As climate change predictions lose their urgency, the fear of an AI apocalypse is emerging as the new rationale for controlling the economy and the information space.

Every major communication technology has sparked a societal instinct to "control it before it controls you." Fears about AI and disinformation are not new; they echo the historical panic over heresy caused by the printing press. This reframes the current regulatory push as a predictable human reaction to disruptive innovation.

The narrative that AI could be catastrophic ('summoning the demon') is used strategically. It creates a sense of danger that justifies why a small, elite group must maintain tight control over the technology, thereby warding off both regulation and competition.

A strange dynamic exists where the tech leaders building AI are also the loudest voices warning of its potential to destroy humanity. This dual narrative of immense promise and existential threat serves to centralize their power, positioning them as the only ones who can both create and control this technology.

The political left requires a central catastrophe narrative to justify its agenda of economic regulation and information control. As the "climate doomerism" narrative loses potency, "AI doomerism" is emerging as its successor—a new, powerful rationale for centralizing power over the tech industry.

AI leaders often use dystopian language about job loss and world-ending scenarios (“summoning the demon”). While effective for fundraising from investors who are "long demon," this messaging is driving a public backlash by framing AI as an existential threat rather than an empowering tool for humanity.

Current fears about AI are not unique but part of a recurring cycle of hysteria, similar to panics over climate change, COVID-19, and nuclear energy. These narratives thrive on the absence of proof of safety, activating social networks and leading to calls for extreme measures based on fear rather than evidence.

By constantly comparing AI's power to nuclear weapons, tech leaders are making a powerful argument against their own independence. If the technology is truly an existential threat, it logically follows that it should be government-controlled for national security, not managed by venture-backed startups.