Author's Note

This book is not an argument against wealth, entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence, technological progress, or ambitious individuals.

It is an argument for proportional accountability.

Humanity has never possessed technological capabilities quite like those now emerging. Artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, surveillance infrastructure, robotics, biotechnology, and advanced computing are converging into a technological environment that can amplify human decisions on a scale without historical precedent. The individuals and institutions directing these technologies hold a degree of power that demands a corresponding degree of scrutiny, transparency, and constraint.

The question is not whether we should stop building. We will not stop, and in many domains we should not.

The question is whether our ability to govern what we build can keep pace with our ability to build it, and whether we will insist on the answer before the question becomes academic.

That is a problem worth taking seriously, regardless of who is holding the money.